YOURSAY | ‘Why is S’pore only telling us now that the red notice was issued in 2016?’

S'pore: Jho Low on Interpol red notice since 2016

Odin Tajué: Since the subject of an Interpol red notice has now cropped up again, and several people seem to have the wrong idea of what it is all about, here is a brief introduction.

A red notice is not an international arrest warrant per se. It is only a request to locate the alleged suspect and provisionally arrest a person while the country looking for that person requests his or her extradition.

The locating and arresting are handled by the member countries. Contrary to what a few seem to think, Interpol does not have detectives and police officers who travel all over the globe to look for and arrest the wanted person.

Unfortunately, member countries are not compelled to locate and arrest the wanted person.

It is up to the country where the wanted person is hiding to determine the legal value of the red notice within its own borders.

Therefore, even if Malaysia has an extradition treaty with the particular country where alleged 1MDB mastermind Jho Low is hiding, but that country deems the notice frivolous, it will not even try to locate him, never mind arrest him.

Anonymous_20f13320: So if I understand this correctly, if there is no will from the source country that requested it, then the red notice is basically an exercise in writing; a formality with no further action.

While some may blame Singapore, I would hold former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak responsible. I look forward to more developments as the trail is being followed, since Malaysia now has the will.

FellowMalaysian: Why is the Singapore government only telling us now that the red notice was issued in October 2016?

The enforcement agencies in Singapore are after two persons whom the authorities there wanted to question. Why the need to keep silent?

Apa Nama: An Interpol red notice was issued almost two years ago for Low. This speaks volumes about the red notice itself and its effectiveness and efficiency.

This red notice could have been issued for three years, five years and even 10 years. No one could do anything.

We need to think and find another way to approach this. Maybe we need to go through the United Nations or even the US Central Intelligence Agency. Is our Special Branch doing something?

Panorama123: Now that we have a new Malaysia and attorney-general (AG) who will strictly enforce the rule of law, it is just a matter of time before Jho Low is arrested.

In this new era of information technology and intelligence, where there is a will, there is a way. He can run, but he cannot hide for long.

Jho Low is in a country where he can't be extradited, says PM

David Dass: When all the evidence of his wrongdoing is gathered and charges can be preferred against him, then those charges should be published and the help of other nations sought as to his extradition.

He may be in Taiwan. We may not have an extradition treaty with Taiwan. Would it be possible to request a one-off extradition without a formal treaty? Or could we negotiate a formal treaty very quickly?

I am not sure what the constraints are on both sides as to the execution of an extradition treaty. Failing which, the US may have a treaty with Taiwan. They could request extradition of Jho Low to the US. And charge him for money laundering or whatever.

And whilst he is in the US, we could request the US for him to be extradited to Malaysia. Assuming of course, that we have an extradition treaty with the US. Failing which, Singapore could apply for his extradition to Singapore for breaches of Singapore law.

Anyway, I am sure all avenues to procure his presence in Malaysia to face charges will be explored by our new AG.

Anonymous_d395a08d: Taiwan, or Republic of China (ROC), doesn't have extradition agreements with most of the countries in the world. Most countries recognise China, or People Republic of China (PRC), and not Taiwan.

That's also the basis where many Taiwanese, despite Taiwan's protests, were extradited to mainland China instead of Taiwan in recent years by countries like Kenya, Spain, Philippines, and not least, Malaysia.

OMG!: If Jho Low is in Taiwan, then Malaysia has some leverage. China has made Taiwan a non-entity by its ‘One China’ policy and a handful of tiny obscure nations are all the friends it has.

Offer some diplomatic advantages to Taiwan. This will step on Beijing's toes, and maybe Taiwan will extradite Jho Low. Moreover, a few of his cronies who may well be hiding out with him there.

6th Generation Immigrant: The first step is to cancel his Malaysian passport with the instructions that he returns home immediately as a citizen without a travel document.

Second step is to ensure that no Malaysian embassy or high commission renews his passport overseas. Soon he will need to apply for a new passport somewhere or seek citizenship.

He can run but he cannot hide forever. The above actions will make him an international stateless criminal.

What’s the point of his swindled billions then? His passion for expensive conjugal rights are also curtailed. What has he to live for?

MahuSeeLui: How do you know Jho Low hasn’t got another passport? The passport of some small countries can be easily bought.

But taking away his Malaysian passport may limit his movements. Nevertheless, he can still live like a king in Taiwan with all the stolen money.

US and Switzerland should also charge him for money laundering and ask for his arrest and extradition.

Lodestar: Just because we don't have an extradition treaty with the country doesn't mean that diplomatic pressure can't be exerted for an alleged criminal of this scale.

Tell us which country, and we can organise a boycott of tourism and products from this country until Jho Low is extradited.

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