IS CHINA PREPARING A SURPRISE PACKAGE FOR TUN Dr. MAHATHIR?

 HI THAT'S ME FEI LOH JHO
THE PRIZED PANDA

No Panda's of the normal kind for Mahathir - fei loh jho possibly

Tun Dr. Mahathir is to visit China next week and in the run up to that visit we have received unconfirmed reports that the rogue fugitive Jho Loh - business associate of  Najib Tun Razak and a close family friend of the Najib Razak family has been arrested according to China Press.

Strange it is been some time  and the Police do not seem to have received any confirmation about the arrest, neither has Wisma Putra or for that matter even the foreign press has not come out with any updates on this issue.

Even more strangely  Xin Hua the official Chinese News agency has remained quiet not commenting on the news and so to the reputable South China Morning Post and could this be deliberate. Most papers in China and Hong Kong are tight lipped on this news report which if true will spark international attention. Why this Deafening Silence.

So what is really up?

Could China have really arrested Jho Low and have decided to keep quiet about it for the time being?

And if that is the case why?

Well if he is in China, the Chinese authorities will get him without too much trouble, that is no problem to them regardless that China is such a huge country, he will not be able to hide from the authorities, if they really want to get him,they'd do so really quick.

The Chinese will be able to round up Jho the minute they say they want him within days if not hours.\
Jho Low is thought to be in China and the probability of him being there is very high indeed so why aren't the Chinese getting him?

Very honestly because at this very moment they have no reason to, but they may have when Tun Dr. Mahathir visits China next week.

So there is every probability that he has been arrested and is being kept till Tun Mahathir visits China.

The Chinese have a tradition of giving their friends Pandas, will they give Mahathir the priced panda - Jho Low to Mahathir Moamed?

Well very honestly that can't be discounted, there is every possibility it may be done but....

They may use this priced panda as bargaining chip for the ECRL, and the many other expensive Chinese projects, but if they try that they are underestimating Tun Dr. Mahathir, he'll not cave in and in fact it will be counter productive to China Malaysia ties.

They may on the other hand graciously give this priced panda  to Dr. Mahathir as a goodwill gesture at the beginning of the meeting, announcing officially over the media that he has been arrested and that the authorities will be sending him back to Malaysia as soon as the formalities are complete.

We must remember that we do not have an extradition treaty with China and the resultant due process may have to take its course and that could be very  long drawn, but in China and for China this can be overcome, the Chinese are very practical they can adjust the time span depending on what is at the end of the bargain.

If things go well they could add a catalyst to the whole situation and send Jho Lo packing on the  plane immediately before or after or for that matter in the cargo hold of the same plane bringing Mahathir to Malaysia. That will be the Panda that Mahathir will bring back.

If things do not go their way or if they can't reach a consensus of how to move forward especially with those projects which have already been signed they may delay the process of extradition even if they had announced it earlier blaming the due process and there is very little Malaysia can complain about as they the Chinese are fully aware of the Zakir Naik case and Malaysia.

In the case of Zakir Naik there is in place an extradition treaty that Malaysia has with India and refusal to extradite Zakir Naik blaming due process or for that matter other reasons may give China the best excuse to hold on to Jho Lo as China has policies on the protection of overseas Chinese and their rights and they may use it saying that is what is delaying the process.

They may even use the Zakir Naik case to argue their point of the delay, telling Malaysia that even though we have a treaty in place it is taking so long, thus justifying their delay.

Another reason  China may to want to hold back is the fear of how much does Jho Low know about the Chinese connection with Najib and his deals with China if any, any spilling of the beans  may compromise the integrity of China, some of its leaders  and the nation as a whole, after all Jho Low is close to the Najibs and maybe privy to this information.

I am more inclined though to think that the Chinese will come upfront and make the offer if they have Jho Low, they will prefer a friend in Tun Dr. Mahathir rather than an enemy, they know that he does not mince his words and if they anger him he will show them that even without them  Malaysia can prosper.

The Chinese will not underestimate the intelligence of Mahathir he will see through their plans and schemes if there is any, but if there's none and they come upfront really eager to serve and work together with Malaysia and acknowledge any wrongdoings in previous contracts they can expect a mutually rewarding future relationship with the PRC.

Of course giving us the right Panda, the priced Panda  this time will go a long way too.