Dr Mahathir speaks at the Cambridge Union...

Dr Mahathir speaks at the Cambridge Union....

Dr.Mahathir blasts Britain over palm oil hypocrisy...

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has defended the palm oil industry, accusing Western countries of double standards on the environment.

European competitors had “invented” the idea that the palm oil industry adversely affected the ecosystem, Mahathir, 93, told the Cambridge Union in Britain on Sunday.

He said biofuel competitors from Europe and elsewhere had made up the claims out of jealousy because palm oil was the cheapest and most versatile edible vegetable oil.

In a speech marked with humour and wit, Mahathir took aim at “hypocritical” European countries, including Britain, who had “cleared” so much forest there were now “no wild animals” left.

“When you start talking about the environment and clearing forests, look at Britain for example. Where are your wood forests? Are they still there? Is Robin Hood still operating from there?” he said, prompting much laughter and applause.

He defended the industry as vital to the livelihoods of many Malaysians, saying it enabled them to “compete with the rest of the world”.

Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer after Indonesia and the industry plays a vital role in alleviating poverty. In 2017, it accounted for 3.8 per cent of GDP and in 2018 Malaysia sold US$1.2 billion worth of palm oil and palm-oil based products to China alone.

A plan by the European Union to restrict the use of palm oil in biofuels ahead of an eventual ban in 2030 has caused uproar in both Malaysia and Indonesia. Western campaigners blame the palm oil industry for deforestation, but Malaysia has claimed previously that the move is motivated by trade protectionism.

During his talk in Cambridge, Mahathir also highlighted how Malaysia had shifted its focus from the West to the East, saying countries such as Japan and Korea were “doing better” than some European countries.

He also voiced concern over the marginalisation of smaller countries by more powerful ones and accused the UN of not being democratic enough.

“In order to give everybody a fair hearing, you should have a round table where everyone sits, each one having only one vote. Just like in elections we don’t give more votes to rich or educated people,” he said. - scmp

Video Seks Kelihatan Tidak Diubah...

Pertubuhan media Australia, SBS News, telah meminta pandangan beberapa pakar mengenai klip seks yang didakwa melibatkan Menteri Hal Ehwal Ekonomi Azmin Ali.

Laporan itu menyatakan bahawa walaupun tidak dapat mengesahkan jika orang dalam video tersebut ialah Azmin, namun para pakar bersetuju bahawa kelihatan tidak ada sebarang pengubahan digital telah dibuat.

"Sekiranya ini (hasil kepintaran buatan AI) Deepfake, ia sangat baik," kata salah seorang daripada mereka, Kevin Nguyen. Menurut SBS, Nguyen ialah pakar forensik digital yang sebelum ini berunding dan menyediakan pengesahan kandungan untuk BBC dan New York Times serta kini bekerja untuk Perbadanan Penyiaran Australia (ABC).

Berikutan analisisnya terhadap ketiga-tiga klip itu, Nguyen berkata: "Pada tahap imej, secara forensik ia telah diperiksa. "Saya menjalankan beberapa analisis forensik... terhadap tiga video itu dan pada enam perkara yang saya periksa tiada bukti terdapat manipulasi foto atau imej," jelasnya.

Profesor Siwei Lyu dari Kolej Kejuruteraan dan Sains Gunaan di University of Albany di Amerika Syarikat juga memberikan gambaran yang sama.

"Dengan menghalang artifak mampatan (compression artifacts), tidak ada jejak algoritma (AI) deepfake yang pasti, seperti orientasi muka yang tidak konsisten, atau wajah yang terapung" katanya.

SBS, yang merupakan organisasi berita yang dibiayai oleh kerajaan, memetik Siwei sebagai pakar dalam bidang kepintaran buatan dan forensik media.

Walau bagaimanapun, pakar lain yang dipetik SBS, Giorgio Patrini, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif syarikat Deeptrace dari Australia, berkata kualiti video itu terlalu rendah untuk membolehkan mendapat suatu analisis muktamad.

Firma Patrini mengendalikan pengesahan video yang diubah dengan teknologi Deepfake.

"Tiada seorang pun daripada penganalisis yang boleh mengesahkan bahawa Azmin ialah lelaki dalam video itu, mereka hanya membuat kesimpulan bahawa video itu tidak pernah diubah secara digital," kata laporan itu lagi.

Sementara itu, pakar lain, Denby Weller dari Universiti Teknologi Sydney, berkata terdapat beberapa tertentu yang perlu diberikan perhatian.

"Dengan melihat (imej itu, boleh dikatakan) ia telah dirakam dengan mod potret dari telefon walaupun rupa itu boleh dibuat secara buatan pada tahap pasca produksi.

"Ia juga ditembak dari kedudukan yang sedikit tinggi (ketinggian kamera sangat sukar untuk dipalsukan), yang menunjukkan bahawa telefon itu mengarah sedikit ke bawah pada lelaki terbabit," katanya.

Weller dilatih dalam bidang verifikasi video bersama Google News Initiative. - f/bk