Wuhan woe - could the coronavirus be what it takes to flush out Jho Low?

A SATIRICAL video is now making the rounds hoping to persuade Malaysia’s most famous fugitive to come home. Knowing how 'well-protected' the quarry is, no amount of transboundary policing appears to have worked to extradite him. So if all efforts to ferret him out has failed, perhaps the flu could flush him out?

Malaysia’s most slippery fugitive, Low Taek Jho – Jho Low to you and me, is still out there. He is variously thought to be clutching any of three passports.

The chubbie chappie – if he is still in a 'feasty frame of mind'; might well be contemplating the Quran in the Middle East, sipping pina colada topping up his wan tan in the Caribbean or maybe, just maybe; wrapped up against the wintry chill and avoiding trailing in the contrails of someone else’s breath; in Wuhan?

We live in hope as there is this Malay saying that with determination, a quarry will be pursued all the way to even the most remote annelid hidey hole.

Literally, the pursuer will go to the ends of the earth (cari hingga ke lubang cacing); meaning to seek even to the tiniest worm hole.

Apparently the authorities know where Jho Low is holed up but for whatever reason, he is offered refuge and succour, by someone, something, some royalty, or some oriental mafiosi!

Now if the geographical location of his hiding place is remotely half accurate, wouldn’t it be deliciously provident if he were, unfortunately, holed up within spitting distance of this now-god forsaken capital of Hubei province?

Wuhan, to the uninitiated, has become a ghost town; as the authorities have put it under lockdown – no one enters, absolutely no one leaves.

How is that going to help any bounty hunter to haul Jho Low back to Malaysia – there is still time as the lunar new year festivities go on for a whole week.

In court, a former premier is learning that Trumpian executive privilege is worth only so long as your undeservedly-promoted KP, AG, IG can hang on to his job.

On-going unravelling of the 1MDB case has clearly shown one party distancing itself from ever, knowing nor conniving with each other. So much for camarderie from fair-weather friends.

With Wuhan shivering this winter, the world is praising China for being more open and forthcoming now with information sharing and news dissemination in the face of this latest viral outbreak.

Things have moved on a bit after they were roundly criticised in the way the Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (SARs) outbreak was handled back in 2002/2003.

That means there is no hiding the number nor identity of those who are stricken by the 2019 n-CoV malady. And if a certain individual registered as Low Taek Jho appears on the newly-built (a 1000-bed special facility ready in under two weeks!) patient manifest – Bob’s your uncle!

Complementing the Malaysian police’s efforts – they are trying oh so hard aren’t they – to collar Jho is the satirical effort now making its rounds in the form of video entitled 'Jho please come home for CNY 2020'.

If indeed this, the year of the metal rat in the Chinese almanac is to prove anything providential, Jho Low is the one roly-poly rodent that many would like to see come home to roost.

All is not yet forgiven. Come back Jho – don’t let the flu get to you.

* Razak Chik is Astro AWANI's Executive Editor.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI