KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia will not pick a fight with the country hosting 1Malaysia Development Berhad fugitive Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and no, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) does not always report all that he knows, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday (Nov 7).

The Prime Minister said Malaysia was conscious of not being a strong country and had no intention to go to war over Low.

"We can go to war, but we will lose the war and Jho Low. We are conscious that we are not a very strong nation.

"Sometimes people are nice to us, sometimes they are not. We have to accept that," said Dr Mahathir.

He did not name the country concerned.

He also said that the difference between IGP Abdul Hamid Bador's statements and his could have stemmed from the fact that they didn't speak the same language.

"The IGP said Jho Low was in Cyprus, but I do not speak the same language as IGP. IGP is the IGP. If you give me all these (police) medals on my shoulder, I would speak like the IGP.

"He has told me where he has found him. I would not know but it is not every time when he knows where Jho Low is supposed to be and he rings me up. Once in a while, he tells me," said Dr Mahathir.

He was speaking to the media after he and his wife Siti Hasmah were awarded honorary doctorates in creative arts by Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan in conjunction with its 15th convocation on Nov 7.

Dr Mahathir said the government was doing all it could to bring back Low to face charges.

"We are working hard on it to get information, but information is not easy to get.

"I am told he may carry several passports, he may have undergone several alterations to his face. All these rumours, we don't have proof," said Dr Mahathir.

On Wednesday, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid voiced his frustration with an unnamed country which he said was aiding Low and refusing to cooperate with Malaysia.

The police chief said that Low was still "hiding like a chicken" in this same country and had not moved to Cyprus, as reported by some portals.

On the same day, the Financial Times published an interview in which Dr Mahathir said that the government did not know where Low was and was not holding any direct negotiations with any country to extradite him to Malaysia.