The court cases involving Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor and ex-Cabinet member Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor centre upon allegations that millions have been demanded and paid in connection with projects pursued by companies.
Meanwhile, a property developer is charged with bribing Tengku Adnan and the names of other companies and businessmen have appeared in the charges - The Star
In the last day of China's biennial air show and weapons expo in Zhuhai, a pair of the country's J-20 heavy stealth fighters
added a surprise twist to their routine—they popped open their weapons
bays and showed off full magazines of missiles. This is the first time
such a full load of weapons has been fully exposed and the first time
China has officially shown off the jet's complete internal weapons
configuration in the flesh.
China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Will Likely Look Like This At Its Air Show DebutBy Tyler Rogoway
What we see isn't necessarily
surprising, but it is interesting nonetheless. In the main ventral bays,
the J-20 is carrying four PL-15 medium-to-long-range air-to-air
missiles. The type is somewhat analogous to the American AIM-120D AMRAAM. Speculation about what missile actually would hold the PL-15 designation has bounced around a lot, with very long-range missiles and those fitted with throttleable ramjets
also potentially receiving the designation, but now it seems the PL-15
is indeed a dual-pulse motor and AESA equipped missile with a similar
profile as its predecessor PL-12. The PL-12 is loosely analogous to the
AIM-120A/B.
Chinese Internet
Note
that even with their clipped fins, only four PL-15s are mounted in the
J-20's bays in a similar fashion to the YF-22's missile configuration.
It isn't clear exactly what the launch mechanism for these missiles is
based on these photos. A staggered arrangement with six PL-15s may be
possible in the future by the looks of the bays, but this depends a lot
on the how the missiles are ejected from the bay itself. The F-22 uses a
trapeze launcher system to chuck the missiles clear of the bay. The
J-20's main weapons bays also look remarkably uncluttered,
which makes one wonder if the missiles are just mounted to static
hardpoints inside, but this is doubtful as what appear to be launchers have been visible in the J-20s bays for years.
Chinese Internet
The
most interesting part of this display of the J-20's lethal payload
carrying abilities is the pair of PL-10s deployed on the outside of the
jet's side weapons bays. This novel configuration is one of the most
fascinating aspects of the J-20's design. I was one of the first to
point it out and explain its utility back in early 2013, when I wrote the following:
"The F-22, a very loose analog for the J-20 (emphasize very),
uses a canted trapeze that pushes the AIM-9’s seeker out into the
air-stream for proper establishment of a lock before launch once the bay
doors are swung open. Only once the missile has acquired a target and
the pilot 'receives tone' (the AIM-9 series has an audible growl as it
hunts for a heat source, once it finds one it goes from an intermittent
growling sound to a solid tone, cueing the pilot to fire) the missile
can be fired and only then do the launch bay doors close up.
This
method increases the F-22’s radar signature dramatically while also
disturbing the airflow around the jet which makes for lower performance
and a rougher ride during close-in air combat maneuvering, or
dogfighting. Soon, the F-22 will have the AIM-9X
Block II which features lock-on after launch data-link capability. In
other words, the pilot can 'acquire' a target via his or hers onboard
sensors, including the hopefully forthcoming Scorpion helmet mounted
display... Once the target is 'virtually locked' within the AIM-9X Block
II’s engagement envelope the pilot can quickly fire the Sidewinder,
with the bay doors opening and closing momentarily, and allow the
data-link to transfer the acquiring secondary sensor’s info to the
missile after it has left the bay in the form of a vector [to the
target]. The
missile will fly in this prescribed direction so that it can acquire
the target itself, at which point the AIM-9X Block II becomes truly
'fire and forget.'
Once the AIM-9X Block II is integrated into
the Raptor, and especially once the helmet mounted display is
operational, the F-22’s side bay doors only have to briefly open to let
the AIM-9X on its one-way mission. All this begs the question: If China
loves copying the US when it comes to weapons systems, why not just
build something similar for the J-20 when it comes to deploying its
short-range air-to-air missiles?
The
answer is quite simple, lock-on after launch capability is not an easy
one to achieve. It is technologically complex, requires deep systems
integration (software architecture permitting), and robust testing using
live missiles, and thus it is expensive. China, being the resourceful
and cunning folks that they are, figured out a way to employ any new or
relatively archaic high-off-bore-sight short ranged air to air missile
while keeping the jet’s aerodynamics relatively intact (doors closed
during prolonged maneuvering while the missile hangs out on its rail)
while also minimizing the impact a 'deployed missile' has the J-20’s low
radar cross-section.
That is right folks, China just said "we don’t want to have to rely on LOAL capability, so why not just temporarily (as in for seconds or minutes) mount a similarly agile, but much less complex and expensive, short ranged air-to-air missile outside of the bay during times when close range combat is imminent?”
This
is exactly what they did, and honestly, I think it is genius. Radar
signature becomes a small factor when fighting for one’s life at close
range, having a reliable missile ready to make a u-turn off the rail and
subsequently turn your enemy into chaff is so important that is can be
seen as a life and death requirement [especially for a big, not
remarkably maneuverable fighter]. The alternative, such as the reality
the F-22 has faced for the better part of a decade, is that you open the
bay up for prolonged periods of time and pay a large penalty in radar
cross section and [some] performance. Also, by building a relatively
simple contraption, kind of similar to one of those bars that goes on
your lap on a roller coaster, albeit with a missile attached, Chinese
engineers simplified the launch system and also probably made it much
lighter than an F-22 type design. Once again, genius.
Another
point to be taken from the J-20’s short-range air-to-air missile launch
mechanism revelations are that designers absolutely thought it was
necessary to give this jet high-off-bore-sight close range missile
capability from day one, and in a reliable and persistent nature when
needed. This could be due to lack of maneuverability and/or because of
its mission, which I have said for years
is to break through the enemy’s (American, Taiwanese etc.) fighter
cover and take out their enablers (see tankers, AEW&C, C2 and
connectivity nodes). In such a case, being electronically silent is your
best bet at surviving, so using infra-red passively guided missiles,
which require no electronic emissions, at medium-close ranges may be
your only play, at least for anything that does not put out a continuous
or semi-continuous form of radiation (see AWACS or JSTARS). In that
case, a passively guided anti-radiation missile may be the J-20’s weapon
of choice, or a medium-long range AAM that can get within locking
distance and featuring active radar or IR for terminal homing, via a
traditional data-link feeding the J-20’s targeting picture to it
provided by passive sensors (IRST, ESM etc).
Moving ahead: (From left) HRDF board director
J. Rasamy Manikkam, GOC chairman Tan Sri Rebecca Sta Maria, Kulasegaran,
HRDF board director Datuk Quah Thain Khan and HRDF chief executive
Elanjelian Venugopal at the townhall meeting.
Petty cash in the millions
Millions were pouring into the HRDF. And for some
high-ranking personnel, their exorbitant salaries and bonuses weren’t
enough. Greed got the better of them and they treated the fund as their
personal bank, helping themselves to some RM100mil, maybe more!!
KUALA LUMPUR: High-ranking staff of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) misappropriated about RM100mil or about a third of the RM300mil in the fund.
While certain management staff members were overpaid with high salaries and bonuses, some training providers and a number of HRDF management personnel misused the fund in the name of training to purchase commercial properties.
Large sums of money were diverted without the authorisation of the HRDF board and there was collusion between managerial staff and external parties to award contracts.
Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran revealed these wrongdoings at a townhall meeting with representatives of employer associations and HRDF-registered employers yesterday.
He said that some members of the HRDF board of directors also did not declare their vested interests to the board.
“There have been wrongdoings, such as abuse of duties, criminal breach of trust and exceeding procedure without reporting to the board.
“(They were) running (the HRDF) as though it was their own company,” he said.
Kulasegaran, who initiated a five-member independent Gover-nance Oversight Committee (GOC) to review and probe the allegations, said that there were elements of fraud in the misuse of the fund in the name of training.
The HRDF is an agency under the Human Resources Ministry that manages a fund for human resource training and development that were contributed by employers.
Regarding the alleged misappropriation of the fund, Kulasegaran said that the HRDF board was only informed after the money was spent.
“Out of RM300mil, nearly RM100mil has been spent,” he said, adding that some department officers, in other instances, also exceeded their authority and approved projects beyond their authorised limit.
When asked, Kulasegaran said that some staff allegedly involved in the wrongdoings are still holding positions in the agency, while some had left.
“After the Pakatan Harapan government took over, three directors have since resigned.
“If they have done anything wrong, action will be taken against them. We will let the process take place. It is not fair at this juncture to make allegations,” he said, adding that two police reports have been lodged based on the GOC report.
Not denying that more former and current HRDF staff are expected to be called up for questioning, Kulasegaran said that parties at fault would be pursued through civil and criminal proceedings.
“After this, I hope the HRDF management will make the agency transparent and accountable to the public,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source that has left the HRDF organisation told The Star that in the week before the townhall, three senior figures within the organisation were subject to domestic inquiries and released from the company.
Another three senior members were on contract and when their contracts expired recently they were not renewed.
A key figure implicated in the scandal resigned soon after GE14.
“Some senior figures have survived, but there is a definite clean-up exercise under way,” said the source.
In some cases, those due to leave found themselves locked out of their offices and escorted off the premises by security when they arrived for work.
The sources said finance personnel and those in special projects who released funds without going through the proper channels, and those who invested money without any accountability are believed to be among those implicated.
“A lack of accountability on the 30% given by companies to the HRDF led to certain figures treating it like a personal piggy bank,” said the source.
He said the culprits are now looking at making deals by providing evidence against the leadership in return for an easy way out.”
“The rot runs deep, and the money runs into billions,” he said. “That’s why there was no choice but to stop the 30% policy and fix the system before restarting it.”
The source said that a key figure implicated in the wrongdoings used tactics such as poor appraisals and internal audits to try to force out those who spoke out against dubious practices.
Some of the questionable property transactions may have involved property in Bangsar South, said the source. - The Star by allison lai and martin vengadesan
The new AI anchors, launched by Xinhua and
Beijing-based search engine operator Sogou during the World Internet
Conference in Wuzhen, can deliver the news with “the same effect” as
human anchors because the machine learning programme is able to
synthesise realistic-looking speech, lip movements and facial
expressions, according to a Xinhua news report on Wednesday.
“AI anchors have officially become members of
the Xinhua News Agency reporting team. They will work with other anchors
to bring you authoritative, timely and accurate news information in
both Chinese and English,” Xinhua said.
The AI anchors are now available throughout
Xinhua’s internet and mobile platforms such as its official Chinese and
English apps, WeChat public account, and online TV webpage.
https://youtu.be/GAfiATTQufk
The world's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor made "his" debut at the ongoing fifth World Internet Conference in east China's Zhejiang Province.
The news anchor, based on the latest AI technology, has a male image with a voice, facial expressions and actions of a real person. "He" learns from live broadcasting videos by himself and can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor.
The AI news anchor was jointly developed by Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run media outlet of China, and Chinese search engine company Sogou.com.
According to Xinhua, "he" has become a member of its reporting team and can work 24 hours a day on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.
Celebrity anchors are regarded as important
assets at major news networks in the US. The highest paid news anchor,
CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is reportedly paid US$100 million a year, while
Diane Sawyer at ABC and Sean Hannity at Fox News earn US$80 million
each. Celebrity anchors in China are generally paid a lot less because
they work for state-run TV stations but they often earn extra money from
product endorsements and book sales.
But AI anchors may one day challenge the human
variety because of their ability to work 24 hours a day provided human
editors keep inputting text into the system.
Xinhua said the achievement was a “breakthrough in the field of global
AI synthesis”, pioneering the synthesis of real-time audio and video
with AI-created anchors in the news field. Search engine Sogou, which
also does research and development in AI, is providing the underlying
technology for the project.
The AI technology has a “endless prospects”
because it will greatly improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of
producing daily TV news reports, Xinhua said, adding that it could also
quickly generate breaking news reports to improve the timeliness and
quality of such reports. - South China Morning Post
China's AI race via @SCMPgraphics http://bit.ly/2NdeiK4 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Dataviz #infographic
Goldman Sachs Group has acknowledged that it may receive “significant penalties” resulting from its deals with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
It also recognised that it had weaknesses in its compliance controls, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
In its third-quarter earnings filing to regulators, the investment management firm made citations about the indictment against its former employees for bribery and money laundering involving 1MDB, WSJ said.
Although it had acknowledged that it could face “significant penalties resulting from 1MDB”, Goldman Sachs said it was also cooperating with investigators, the report on Monday said.
According to WSJ, Goldman Sachs wrote in the filing that the indictment alleged the firm’s “system of internal accounting controls could be easily circumvented and that the firm’s business culture, particularly in South-East Asia, at times prioritised consummation of deals ahead of the proper operation of its compliance functions”.
The filing also mentioned that former Goldman Sachs bankers Tim Leissner and Roger Ng had “circumvented the firm’s internal accounting controls in part by intentionally deceiving control personnel and internal committees”.
Goldman Sachs is said to have received nearly RM2.5bil (US$600mil) in fees from the 1MDB deal.
Previously, the Financial Times reported that Goldman Sachs had helped 1MDB sell about RM27bil (US$6.5bil) of bonds between 2012 and 2013, two years before the authorities raided 1MDB’s offices to investigate allegations of massive fraud.
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Goldman Sachs estimated that possible losses related to litigation proceedings could run as high as US$1.8bil (RM7.49bil) above its total reserves for such matters.
Previously, Goldman Sachs estimated litigation losses to be in excess of US$1.5bil (RM6.24 bil).
The Financial Times also reported that almost 30 people from Goldman Sachs had reviewed 1MDB deal’s approval process.
Meanwhile, in a 2016 indictment, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged that most of the money raised with Goldman Sachs’ help was siphoned off by Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
The fugitive businessman together with bankers Ng and Leissner were indicted by the DoJ on Thursday for conspiring to launder money and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in relation to 1MDB.
Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money and to violating anti-bribery laws. He has been ordered to forfeit US$43.7mil (RM182.27mil) as a result of his crimes.
The criminal charges relating to 1MDB are the first by DoJ.
In 2016, the DOJ reportedly recovered over US$1bil (RM4.17bil being the current conversion rate) that was allegedly stolen, and sought the forfeiture of property, including a Bombardier private jet, Manhattan penthouse, Beverly Hills mansion and paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
Low is currently wanted in Malaysia and Singapore and other countries over investigations into 1MDB.
In a separate report by the Associated Press, PKR incoming president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Low would be given a fair trial.
Anwar said he was “quite pleased” with developments in the case so far and that investigations in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore and other places were “progressing very well”.
The report also said Anwar had hinted that more former officials could be tried on corruption charges.
Malaysia has applied for a Red Notice to seek assistance from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, China and Hong Kong via Interpol, and Taiwan via diplomatic channels to arrest Low. - The Star
Related posts:
Goldman Sachs CEO: I feel horrible ex-bankers broke law in 1MDB case
https://youtu.be/L0XbbbqTHYw
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David Solomon said on Wednesday he felt "horrible" that two former employees "blatantly broke the law" in their dealings with 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
US prosecutors filed criminal charges against the two former Goldman bankers and a Malaysian financier linked to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from the fund.
An investigation into where 1MDB's money went became the largest carried out by the Department of Justice under its anti-kleptocracy programme, and the scandal was a major reason why Malaysian voters rejected Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, their prime minister for nearly a decade, in the May 9 general election.
"It is obviously very distressing to see two former Goldman Sachs employees went so blatantly around our policies and so blatantly broke the law," Solomon said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Singapore.
"I feel horrible about the fact that people who worked at Goldman Sachs, and it doesn't matter whether it's a partner or it's an entry level employee, would go around our policies and break the law," Solomon said.
US prosecutors announced last week that Tim Leissner, former partner for Goldman Sachs in Asia, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and agreed to forfeit US$43.7mil (RM181.8mil).
Roger Ng, the other charged former Goldman banker, was arrested in Malaysia and is expected to be extradited.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Ng's lawyer on Wednesday. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment after US prosecutors unveiled the charges last Thursday.
Goldman has also placed its former co-head of Asia investment banking, Andrea Vella, on leave over his role in the firm's involvement with the case, pending a review of allegations, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The Wall Street bank said in a securities filing on Friday that it may also face penalties from dealings with 1MDB.
Asked if he could provide assurances that neither he, former CEO Lloyd Blankfein or any of the senior management team suspected illegality or compliance breaches in dealings with 1MDB, Solomon said:
"We take compliance and control in our firm extremely seriously, we always have...We are going to continue to cooperate with the authorities and there's a process in place and that process will proceed." According to prosecutors, the investment bank generated about US$600mil (RM2.49bil) in fees for its work with 1MDB, which included three bond offerings in 2012 and 2013 that raised US$6.5bil (RM23.29bil). Leissner, Ng and others received large bonuses in connection with that revenue.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Reuters in June that the government will be looking at the possibility of seeking claims from Goldman Sachs.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia will look into why Goldman was paid around US$600mil in fees, an amount that critics say exceeds normal levels.
Goldman has maintained that the outsized fees related to the additional risks it took on after it bought the un-rated bonds while it sought investors and, in the case of the 2013 deal which raised US$2.7bil (RM11.24bil), 1MDB wanted the funds in a hurry for a planned investment.
The new Malaysian government has barred Najib and his wife from leaving the country, and the former premier faces multiple charges of corruption, money laundering and abuse of power, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to 1MDB.
In another interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Malaysia's prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said it would be
"inexcusable" if Goldman Sachs was complicit in the scandal. – Reuters
American investment bank Goldman Sachs
should return the US$588mil (RM2.4bil) in it was paid for 1MDB-related
matters, says Lim Guan Eng.
The Finance Minister said the fees were for raising bonds totalling
US$6.5 billion (RM23.29 billion) for the Malaysian state investment firm
back in 2012 and 2013.
"They must pay us back this money, not only the US$588mil but much
more than that," he said during a briefing on Budget 2019 at Hotel
Equatorial Penang on Wednesday (Nov 7).
He said there were consequential losses due to the fees paid as it had cost Malaysia big losses.
This was in respond to Goldman Sachs chief executive officer David
Solomon, who admitted that their employees had broken the law over 1MDB
matters.
Read more at
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/08/guan-eng-goldman-sachs-should-return-rm2_4bil-fees/#wqMtc2F6O1jC35UJ.99
