Friday, 15 May 2026

Batu Kawan land deal: Toothless CM Chow and Penang government

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For image info, go to https://www.penangpropertytalk.com/2023/10/penang-calls-off-batu-kawan-land-deal/ 

Batu Kawan land deal: Toothless CM Chow and Penang government

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/videos/p5pz-pdmjVk (Chow, Guan Eng spar over Batu Kawan land tender)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16, 2026: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and his government are looking more and more like toothless tigers, good only for issuing threats but NATO (No Action Talk Only).

Chow, who is also the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) chief, had more than two years ago threatened to take legal action against The Edge (a weekly business news magazine) for its report on the controversial land deal involving 559 acres of state land in Ladang Byram, Batu Kawan.

PDC till today has yet to file the suit.

And Chow and his mentor, Lim Guan Eng, had a fiery spar in the Penang Assembly this week, with Chow losing his cool and displaying tremendous emotion, instead of explaining the controversial deal (see above video clip).

Or is there something to hide?

For image info, go to https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/686446

No News Is Bad News reproduces below Lim’s say on the controversy:

PDC Prove Its Integrity And Credibility By Carrying Out Its Threat Made More Than 2 Years Ago To Sue The Edge


__________

PDC should carry out its threat made over 2 years ago to take legal action against The Edge for its report on the controversial land deal involving 559 acres of state land in Ladang Byram, Batu Kawan. The Edge had on 10 January 2024 described the sale of 559 acres of Ladang Byram/Changkat land by direct sale, not open tender as “Turkeys of the Year: A hush-hush land deal in Batu Kawan.”

On 31 May 2024, The Edge reported that Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the PDC was mulling a legal suit against The Edge over its report on the controversial Batu Kawan project. However more than 2 years later, no legal suit has been filed. PDC should take seriously the allegations made in The Edge against the state government and carry out its threat to sue to prove its integrity and credibility.

Failure to do so may negatively impair the image of the state government. Bear in mind The Edge is no ordinary paper. The Edge gained renown for courageously reporting and exposing the RM 52 billion 1MDB scandal despite threats from the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The Edge would not have made such allegations on the Ladang Byram land deal lightly without due diligence and thorough investigations.

After the state government cancelled its direct tender of the land for RM 646 million, it launched a Request for Proposal(RFP) by open tender in 2024. In December 2024, the government rejected the first RFP’s offer of RM 818 million from a consortium of 3 companies, two of which were publicly listed. The consortium in the failed first RFP had made a public statement disagreeing with the PDC’s decision on December 2024.

Recently the second RFP issued by PDC in 2025 was also cancelled without reasons given. I hope that PDC can fully explain the reasons why in the interest of public scrutiny, accountability, transparency and the rakyat’s interest.

==================

【槟州发展机构(PDC)应兑现两年多前扬言起诉《The Edge》的承诺,以证明其廉正与公信力】

______________

槟州发展机构应落实其两年多前所作出的威胁,即针对《The Edge》有关威南峇都交湾559英亩州政府土地交易争议的报道采取法律行动。《The Edge》于2024110日曾将这项涉及樟角楣南(Ladang ByramChangkat)559英亩土地、以直接出售而非公开招标方式进行的交易,形容为年度最离谱事件:峇都交湾一宗神神秘秘的土地交易Turkeys of the Year: A hush-hush land deal in Batu Kawan)。

The Edge》于2024531日报道,槟州首席部长曹观友表示,PDC正考虑针对《The Edge》有关峇都交湾争议发展计划的报道提出诉讼。然而,两年多过去了,至今却仍未见任何法律行动。PDC应严正看待《The Edge》针对州政府所提出的相关指控,并兑现起诉承诺,以证明其廉正与公信力。

若继续没有采取行动,恐将进一步损害州政府形象。必须谨记,《The Edge》并非一般媒体。《The Edge》过去在面对时任首相拿督斯里纳吉的压力与威胁下,仍勇敢揭发与报道高达520亿令吉的一马发展公司(1MDB)丑闻,因此声名大噪。《The Edge》不可能在没有经过尽职调查与深入调查的情况下,轻率地针对Ladang Byram土地交易作出如此严重的指控。

州政府在取消原本以6亿4600万令吉直接出售该土地的计划后,于2024年改以公开招标方式展开建议书征求(RFP)。202412月,州政府拒绝了首轮RFP中,由3家公司组成财团提出的8亿1800万令吉献议,其中两家公司还是上市公司。参与首轮失败RFP的该财团,也于202412月公开发表声明,不认同PDC所作出的决定。

近期,PDC2025年重新发出的第二轮RFP,同样在未说明理由下被取消。我希望PDC能够基于公众监督、问责、透明化以及人民利益,全面交代取消第二轮RFP的真正原因。

S’pore court winds up three firms in 1MDB scandal, StanChart and BSI left out of claims

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FLASHBACK: This front-paged news says it all about Malaysia’s so-called Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), 1MDB.

S’pore court winds up three firms in 1MDB scandal, StanChart and BSI left out of claims

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15, 2026: The Singapore High Court has granted winding-up applications for three British Virgin Island-incorporated entities linked to the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) scandal.

In March, the court rejected Standard Chartered and BSI Bank’s application to be part of winding-up applications for the three 1MDB-linked firms as they did not meet the criteria as contingent creditors.

Liquidators Angela Barkhouse and Toni Shukla of Kroll Limited said the court ruling allowed them to bring further statutory claims against both BSI Bank Ltd and Standard Chartered Plc for allegedly facilitating fraud involving 1MDB.

No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on the winding-up petitions for the three 1MDB firms:

S’pore court grants winding-up petitions for 3 firms in 1MDB scandal

FMT Reporters

Liquidators will now bring further statutory claims against BSI Bank and Standard Chartered for allegedly facilitating fraud involving the sovereign wealth fund.

 

In March, the Singapore High Court rejected Standard Chartered and BSI Bank’s application to be part of winding-up applications for the three 1MDB-linked firms as they did not meet the criteria as contingent creditors.

PETALING JAYA: The Singapore High Court has granted winding-up applications for three British Virgin Island (BVI)-incorporated entities linked to the 1MDB scandal.

Liquidators Angela Barkhouse and Toni Shukla of Kroll Limited said the court ruling allows them to bring further statutory claims against both BSI Bank Ltd and Standard Chartered Plc for allegedly facilitating fraud involving 1MDB.

“Now that these local winding-up orders have been granted, the relevant statutory claims against Standard Chartered and BSI Singapore will be filed in short order.

“This in addition to other ongoing claims brought against these banks, including claims for dishonest assistance, breach of the banks’ duties of reasonable skill and care, and breach of their banking mandate, in respect of the companies now entering liquidation in Singapore.

“This is a positive step forward in the efforts to hold financial institutions and individuals responsible for their role in the large-scale fraud involving 1MDB,” Barkhouse and Shukla said in a statement.

They said their goal is to recover assets from the people and institutions identified as being culpable in the misappropriation of assets from the three BVI companies.

“These are assets which are ultimately traceable to funds that were originally meant to benefit the people of Malaysia but were siphoned off,” said the liquidators.

In July last year, Barkhouse and Shukla sued Standard Chartered and BSI Bank on behalf of the three 1MDB subsidiaries in liquidation.

The suit concerned the banks’ alleged failure to identify and act on red flags in more than 100 intrabank transfers between 2009 and 2013.

The claimants said they lost over US$2.7 billion and S$20 million in public funds from transactions they say violated Singapore’s anti-money laundering rules and due diligence obligations, The Edge reported.

The suit was, however, dismissed by the Singapore Court of Appeal in March, as it upheld that the banks cannot be sued for transactions that took place before 2018, which is when the city-state’s cross-border insolvency law took effect.

The same month, Standard Chartered and BSI Bank failed to be part of winding-up applications for the firms linked to 1MDB, with the High Court ruling that they did not meet the criteria as contingent creditors.

The firms are being liquidated in BVI as part of efforts to recover allegedly misappropriated funds from 1MDB.

Jho Low in KL last year for 1MDB talks?: Polis di-Raja Malaysia and Immigration Department tak tahu malu (know no shame)

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Jho Low in KL last year for 1MDB talks?: Polis di-Raja Malaysia and Immigration Department tak tahu malu (know no shame)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15, 2026: Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohd Khalid Ismail has confirmed that police are investigating claims that fugitive financier Jho Low was in Malaysia last year for covert diplomatic negotiations involving China in the 1Mlaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) historic and world’s largest financial scandal to date.

If true, how did that happen since Jho Low is in the police wanted list?

Were the cops and immigration caught napping or just “closing their eyes”?

Tak tahu malu (knows no shame)!

No News Is Bad News reproduces below news reports on the shameful state of Polis di-Raja Malaysia and the Immigration Department, the explosive Sarawak Report and our previous post:

Malaysia

Jho Low held secret meetings in KL in 2025?

IGP confirms probe under way into the explosive allegations amid renewed scrutiny over unresolved aspects of the 1MDB scandal and claims of covert diplomatic negotiations involving China

Updated 1 minute ago · Published on 15 May 2026 3:21PM

Police investigate claims Jho Low secretly returned to Kuala Lumpur for high-level 1MDB talks - May 15, 2026

AUTHORITIES are investigating claims that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low, may have secretly entered Kuala Lumpur at the end of last year to participate in confidential discussions allegedly linked to unresolved matters surrounding the 1MDB scandal.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail confirmed that police had opened investigations into the allegations, stressing that all inquiries were being conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures and existing laws.

“This is a claim. Seven years ago, I was not even appointed at that time,” he told reporters.

“Therefore, investigations are carried out from time to time in accordance with the legal process permitted under the law.”

Mohd Khalid said police would continue cooperating with relevant agencies and parties to ensure the matter was investigated comprehensively, although he declined to provide further details because inquiries remain ongoing.

The latest controversy emerged following allegations published by investigative news portal Sarawak Report on Wednesday claiming that Jho Low had attended a series of secret meetings in Kuala Lumpur during late 2025 while allegedly accompanying a Chinese delegation.

According to the report, the discussions were purportedly linked to efforts aimed at resolving outstanding issues connected to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal between Malaysia and China.

The allegations further suggested that the talks may have involved sensitive claims regarding China’s alleged role in helping suppress or manage matters associated with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the height of the 1MDB controversy.

Najib is currently serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted in connection with the SRC International corruption case involving abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust linked to funds originating from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Jho Low remains one of the central figures associated with the global 1MDB scandal and has been the subject of international investigations spanning multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

He reportedly fled Malaysia in 2015 shortly after investigations into 1MDB intensified and has remained at large ever since despite repeated efforts by Malaysian authorities to locate and extradite him.

The latest allegations have reignited public attention over unanswered questions surrounding the 1MDB affair, widely regarded as one of the world’s largest financial scandals, which triggered investigations across several countries and exposed alleged embezzlement involving billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign investment fund.

The police investigation is expected to focus on verifying whether Jho Low was physically present in Malaysia, identifying individuals allegedly involved in the reported meetings and determining whether any laws or security procedures may have been breached. - May 15, 2026

 

$3 Billion China-Malaysia Deal Was ‘Brokered By Jho Low’ – EXCLUSIVE!

13 May 2026

The filing of the plea by Jho Low for a Presidential pardon in the United States took place in January against an extraordinary background, whereby the Malaysian fraudster played a key role in secret negotiations between China and Malaysia to write off 1MDB-related debts at the end of last year, according to exclusive information obtained by Sarawak Report.

Meetings even took place involving the fugitive fraudster in KL itself under the protection of the Chinese delegation, sources have claimed.

The pardon plea was published by the Wall Street Journal overnight, just as the US President Donald Trump was boarding his flight to Beijing for a critical summit with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The talks will focus on the deteriorating global situation following America’s sudden initiation of hostilities against Iran, however the suggestion that the Chinese fugitive believes he can ‘buy’ a pardon by settling his debts over 1MDB brings embarrassment to both leaders.

In the US there has been a flurry of social media comment relating to the Trump administration’s existing record in providing pardons to foreign fraudsters believed to have found ways to benefit the President’s own family businesses. Meanwhile, there are huge questions over China’s own complicity in facilitating Jho Low’s record breaking fraud at the expense of the Malaysian public purse and then continuing to provide apparent refuge.

Sarawak Report has learned from its own government sources that Jho Low’s engagement in Chinese politicking and influence buying abroad has indeed continued at the highest levels. His lobbying in Washington and attempts on behalf of China to trade cash and hostages for the extradition of the wanted billionaire Miles Guo has already landed the rap star Pras Michel in jail with 14 year sentence earlier this year, likewise the republican lobbyist Nancy Lum Davis has been sentenced to two years.

Sarawak Report has also exposed the involvement of Obama’s former fundraiser Frank White in the China/Jho Low network and the former Republican chief fundraiser, Elliot Broidy, who himself escaped jail through a Presidential pardon from Trump in 2020 for advocating the Guo/Najib agenda.

Despite such exposure, Jho Low has continued to find protection at the highest levels in China, and according to our information even attended secret talks in Kuala Lumpur as part of a Chinese delegation at the end of last year to draw a line under the remaining issues with China relating to 1MDB and, more particularly, the Chinese state’s scandalous role in assisting the imprisoned former PM Najib Razak in the cover-up.

Jho Low himself was pivotal to that cover-up, whereby the embattled Najib, having been exposed by Sarawak Report and then the US Department of Justice for stealing billions of dollars from the bogus sovereign fund, raised further billions in loans from China to cover the resulting debts.

The loans, negotiated primarily by Jho Low on behalf of Najib, were on the pretext of funding Belt & Road projects that were either fraudulently inflated (the East Coast Rail Line) or never materialised (the Sabah Pipeline Project). As documents published by Sarawak Report (now confirmed by numerous court cases) have shown, the Chinese negotiators were fully aware of the fraudulent purpose and facilitated the laundering of the borrowed money through Chinese state banks and companies, primarily through Kuwait.

At the time it was widely noted that Najib concurrently signed up to key economic and defence deals that brought Malaysia more closely under the influence of China.  It also left Malaysia with enormous debts and interest payments, totalling some $3 billion for the pipeline deal alone, which have continued to hang over the heads of successive Malaysian governments tasked with repaying the enormous 1MDB debts and cover-up costs.

According to Sarawak Report’s exclusive information, Jho Low’s intricate knowledge of the situation and contacts in Malaysia played into his involvement in a key resolution of this situation by the present government which, we understand, has achieved a settlement whereby China will write off the debt in return for drawing a line under the matter and Beijing’s own sordid involvement. Conditions have included no future claims against the construction companies CCCC and China Pipeline Bureau or the two banks, Exim Bank and ICBC, who raised and laundered the money.

Far more controversial will have been the demand also that Malaysia’s Red Notice should continue to be suspended against Jho Low and future extradition efforts set aside. This appears to be a continuation of the negotiations that were initiated by Jho’s US lawyers with the Ismail Sabri government in 2022, since when the INTERPOL notice by Malaysia has been noticeably absent.

Sarawak Report has been unable to confirm the extent to which Malaysia may have pledged to withhold its prosecution of the fraudster as part of these negotiations. Today the minister in charge of the 1MDB Asset Recovery Task Force, Johari Abdul Ghani, went on record to denounce and deny knowledge of any such decision.

However, a perceived progress in the direction of settling Malaysia’s issues with China over 1MDB at the end of 2025 may well have spurred Jho Low’s US lawyers into seeking to clear his copybook in the United States by offering to pay back further 1MDB related debts (he was touting RM1.5 billion / $380 million in 2022) in return for a radically diminished sentence in that country or a free pass altogether.

It was on similar terms that both Elliot Broidy and Frank White were able to cut deals and escape jail time themselves, by surrendering up their 1MDB-related earnings to the Department of Justice. Likewise, the Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, who drastically diminished his jail time by handing over at least some of the money stolen from Malaysia.

Sarawak Report is awaiting official comment on the news of the partial settlement from government sources in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, publishers have launched pre-sales for the upcoming book on China’s Belt & Road entanglement in Malaysia’s 1MDB cover up phase.  The China Contract, written by Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown and due for publication in October can be accessed from The Westbourne Press and will be available through Amazon. - Sarawak Report

 

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

Are Polis di-Raja Malaysia that grossly inefficient in 1MDB and Altantuya murder?

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Are Polis di-Raja Malaysia that grossly inefficient in 1MDB and Altantuya murder? 

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13, 2026: Polis di-Raja Malaysia have been searching for fugitive financier Jho Lo for more than 10 years or a decade.

At the rate of locating Jho Lo, the architect behind the siphoning of US$4.5 billion from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) in a globe-spanning scheme between 2009 and 2014, one can safely deduce that he will next be captured by police here and charged.

Are the police so inefficient that it is unable to locate and capture Jho Low?

Jolly good time with 1MDB loot!

Perhaps Joh Low has undergone sex and identity change that he is now unrecognisable? (see above Facebook image)

A more plausible explanation  on the elusive Jho Low is that the Government (police) does no really want Joho Low to be located, captured and brought back to face justice.

If he is brought back and charged, he is likely to spill the beans and that would mean a “life sentence” for the disgraced and shameless former Umno president and prime minister Najib “1MDB” Razak who is now serving jail sentence in Kajang Prison for multiple counts of abuse of power and money-laundering.

Likewise, is it so difficult to extradite former Malaysian police commando murderer Sirul Azhar Umar who is now roaming freely in Australia?

Sirul and another commando Azilah Hadri were convicted of murdering 28-year-old Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006, shooting her and blowing up her body with explosives near Kuala Lumpur. Both were sentenced to death, though no official motive was ever established.

For image info, go to https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/25/man-convicted-in-murder-case-that-rocked-malaysia-claims-paid-for-silence 

Altantuya was also a French translator in the multi-billion-Ringgit Scorpene Submarine purchase by the Defence Ministry (the minister was then Najib who was also deputy prime minister).

Altantuys lover was Abdul Razak Baginda, a Malaysian political analyst and close confidante of Najib.

Although the police commandos were convicted of murder, the court sensationally ruled that the motive for the murder was irrelevant and who ordered the murder was also not established!

 

The lover and Altantuya

Until today, there is still no closure for the murder and justice for Altantuya and her family (parents and siblings).

Again, it does appear that the police are “disinterested” in bring Sirul back because, if he is charged with fleeing from prison, he is likely to spill the beans on who gave the “kill order” and who really ordered it, etc.

Police commandos do not just carry out a slaying unless ordered by their superior/s.

So, do you think the police are so grossly inefficient in both high profile cases?

And, lets not forget the death of Teoh Beng Hock who was found dead in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building in Shah Alam while under custody for interrogation. Just who in the MACC is the Government protecting from revealing the true cause of death?

 

No News Is Bad News reproduces below a CNA news report on Jho Low seeking a pardon from the mentally-challenged US president Donald Trump:

Fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low seeks Trump pardon for 1MDB case: Reports

The request was filed in recent weeks, said a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter, and if granted would remove United States criminal charges against him.


 Malaysian fugitive financier Jho Low. (File photo: AFP/Dimitrios Kambouris)

13 May 2026 11:14AM(Updated: 13 May 2026 03:56PM)

WASHINGTON: Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low and now a fugitive, has sought a pardon from United States (US) President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday (May 12).

The request was filed in recent weeks, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the matter, and if granted would remove US criminal charges against him.

A Justice Department website lists a pending request for a "Pardon after Completion of Sentence" under Taek Jho Low that was filed this year, the report said.

A White House official said Low's request was not currently on the White House's radar, WSJ added.

Bloomberg on Wednesday also reported on Low's pardon bid, citing the notice on the Justice Department website. Bloomberg said that a spokesman for the Brooklyn US Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the 1MDB case, did not immediately respond to its queries.

Low is accused of being the architect behind the siphoning of US$4.5 billion from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB in a globe-spanning scheme between 2009 and 2014.

Johari Abdul Ghani, the chairman of a Malaysian taskforce seeking to recover funds and assets linked to 1MDB worldwide, said Low's request for pardon should be denied and the US should instead assist Malaysia in locating Low for further investigations.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm against the pardon," Johari, who is also trade minister, said in a text message to Reuters on Wednesday when asked about the WSJ report.

Johari added he was unaware of any talks between Low and Malaysia to return assets. 

The WSJ reported that Malaysia had temporarily lifted an Interpol red notice against Low that would make him subject to arrest almost anywhere in the world to facilitate the return of significant assets to the country.

In 2019, the US struck a deal to recoup about US$1 billion from Low, with the fugitive agreeing to give up a private jet and high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London among other assets.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in 2023 the government was negotiating with other countries to speed up Low's return, though he declined to name the nations involved.

Low had helped former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak set up 1MDB to promote economic development. 

Najib was jailed in 2022 after being found guilty of 1MDB-linked corruption and money laundering.