This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on September 6, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s former special officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, agreed with a suggestion that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, behaved like a “puppet master” who controlled those around him to do his bidding, no matter what their ranks were or where they were from.

The suggestion was put forth by defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to Amhari, the eighth prosecution witness in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore trial.

Muhammad Shafee was making references to a paragraph in Amhari’s witness statement, which describes Low as a “master manipulator”, which the defence counsel asked the witness to explain during his cross-examination.

Muhammad Shafee: You said that Jho Low is a “master manipulator” in your statement. From your perspective, what made you conclude that?

Amhari: I concluded that whenever there was a need to execute something, he would be able to engage different people at different places to get what he wanted.

Muhammad Shafee: But exactly what do you mean by a “master manipulator”?

Amhari: In a very overwhelming way, he was able to persuade people in various positions, whether [in] high or low [positions], involving domestic and international people to get what he wanted to the point that most of the time we didn’t even know who these people were.

Muhammad Shafee: In other words, Jho was a puppet master and you and others were merely puppets?

Amhari: I can agree with that.

The defence counsel later went on to enquire about how the witness deduced that Jho Low and the former premier shared a close relationship.

The witness told the court that he had seen Jho Low at Najib’s residence in Jalan Langgak Duta many times, more than anyone else.

The fugitive businessman even knew about the former prime minister’s travel plans and dates, he said.

Muhammad Shafee: What else?

Amhari: When Jho Low, myself and Azlin (Datuk Azlin Alias) had a meeting, Jho Low would mention certain things to Azlin and say “this will be raised to you tomorrow” and subsequently those matters were raised to Azlin [by Najib].