00:00Lowe Tate Joe, better known as Joe Lowe, learned the importance of political connections early
00:07in his career when he bid for a stake in DRB HiCom, as detailed in Leslie Lopez's book,
00:13The Siege Within.
00:15After the death of DRB HiCom's founder Yahya Ahmad, Lowe sought to take over the company
00:20using his private corporate vehicle, Winton Capital, backed by investors from Abu Dhabi
00:25and Saudi Arabia.
00:28Lowe's bid caught the attention of then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's advisers
00:32as they aimed to strengthen ties with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.
00:37It is claimed that Lowe's team was encouraged by Abdullah's advisers to rope in a businessman
00:42who was a prominent player in the automotive business.
00:45However, despite initial support, Abdullah changed his mind last minute, awarding the
00:50stake to tycoon Saeed Mukhtar al-Bukhari.
00:54This setback taught Lowe the critical importance of wasta, or political clout, in Malaysia,
00:59Lopez wrote.
01:00Later, Lowe became infamous for masterminding the 1MDB scam, which led to the conviction
01:05and imprisonment of Najib, while Lowe remains at large.
01:09The 1MDB case is considered by the U.S. Department of Justice as the largest kleptocracy case
01:14to date.
01:15The Siege Within is currently on sale and can be purchased online at Kinokuniya, Lidbooks
01:19and Amazon Singapore.
01:22Dhanushwaja Reza, FMT News.
Comments