KUALA LUMPUR: The police will get fugitive financier Low Taek Jho back to Malaysia even if he changed his appearance to look like a "bear" to evade arrest, says Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).
"I wouldn't know if he had changed his appearance with cosmetic surgery or not.
"Whatever it is, what is important is that we will continue to pursue him and will not stop until we get cooperation from Interpol and the country where we believe he is in," he told reporters at Parliament lobby on Monday (Nov 4).
Muhyiddin said although Interpol may have raised a red-flag again, it was still crucial to get cooperation from the country where Low - also known as Jho Low - was believed to be hiding.
"It would be difficult for us to take action if we don't get the cooperation from the country where we think he is in," he added.
He stressed the government would not give up effort to bring the fugitive back to the country to face charges.
Asked if Jho Low would be brought back to Malaysia by the year's end or within a specific time frame, Muhyiddin said he could not give a definite answer on this.
Muhyiddin was asked to comment on Inspector-General of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador's statement earlier on Monday (Nov 4) that it is "irresponsible" for a certain country to continue to protect the fugitive Malaysian businessman.
Abdul Bador said that Jho Low seem to be getting some form of immunity and protection from the authorities in the country.
He added the authorities there have even given excuses to the extent of saying that the fugitive businessman had undergone facial plastic surgery and his face now looks like that of a "bear".
Abdul Hamid made the comments following recent reports claiming that Jho Low is moving about using a Cypriot passport.
According to reports by Cyprus-based newspaper Politis, the fugitive businessman, linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, had also been a Cyprus citizen for the past four years.
