时代周刊:马哈蒂尔·穆罕默德成为世界上最年长的政府首脑

The world’s oldest head of government takes center stage in Malaysia

世界上最年长的政府首脑成为马来西亚的焦点

AN AGING STRONGMAN.

一个是垂垂老矣的铁腕人物。

A CORRUPT¹ protégé.

一个是腐败的宠儿。

An opposition² leader jailed on trumped-up charges.

一个是因莫须有的罪名被判入狱的反对派领导人。

Each of the central players in Malaysia’s election on May 9 was making a return to the political theater,

5月9日马来西亚大选的每一位核心人物都是重返政治舞台的熟脸，

but recast allegiances made for an upset that few predicted.

然而，出人意料的是，重铸的忠诚反而催生了混乱。

At almost 93 years old,

在年近93岁高龄之际，

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad handed the ruling coalition³ its first defeat since independence,

马来西亚前总理马哈蒂尔·穆罕默德给执政联盟带来了该联盟自独立以来的第一次失败，

and returned to his old job, this time as the world’s oldest head of government.

之后，他回到了他原来的岗位，再次出任马来西亚总理，成为了世界上年龄最大的政府首脑。

For his political encore,

为了他的这次政治“加演”，

Mahathir defected from the ruling coalition he helped build to unite a fractious opposition in its bid to unseat the scandal-dogged incumbent⁴ Najib Razak.

马哈蒂尔脱离了他曾帮助建立的执政联盟，加入了一个难以驾驭的反对派试图推翻丑闻缠身的现任总理纳吉布·拉扎克的队伍。

“I tried to advise him,” he told TIME in an interview on the campaign trail.

“我试过给他提建议，”马哈蒂尔在竞选途中接受本刊采访时表示。

“But it didn’t work. So eventually I decided⁵ I would go against him.”

“但没有用。所以我只能站到他的对立面了。”

A doctor by training, Mahathir spent his 22 years in power until 2003 bringing the former British colony to industrial modernization⁶.

马哈蒂尔原本是科班出身的医生，执政22年后，到了2003年才带领这个前英国殖民地国家走上了工业现代化的道路。

At campaign stops across the country, in remote clearings ribbed by rice paddies and in urban parking lots,

在全国各地的竞选站点，无论是稻田纵横交错的偏远空地，还是城市里的停车场，

Mahathir was feted with chants of “Long live Tun,” a historic honorific.

马哈蒂尔都受到了民众齐唱“Long live Tun”圣歌——这是一个具有历史意义的敬语——这样的礼遇。

Mahathir has vowed⁷ to restore the rule of law, to rebuild institutions and to correct what he terms his “biggest mistake”:

他立誓要恢复法治，重整制度，纠正他所谓的他犯下的“天大的错误”：

installing Najib, whose alleged⁸ links to embezzled⁹ funds in a sovereign investment fund could see him face criminal charges. (He denies wrongdoing.)

任命纳吉布为总理，后者被指涉嫌挪用主权投资基金，可能会面临刑事指控。(纳吉布否认自己存在不法行为。)

On election night, Mahathir claimed victory with a warning to Najib not to frustrate¹⁰ the will of the people.

选举当晚，马哈蒂尔宣布获胜，他警告纳吉布不要辜负人民的意愿。

Across the country, joyful¹¹ Malaysians sang the national anthem¹² and waved cell-phone lashlights.

在全国各地，喜气洋洋的马来西亚人唱着国歌，挥舞着开了闪光灯的手机以示庆贺。

“Mahathir made Malaysia known around the world,” said Debbie Ambok, a voter in Langkawi.

“马哈蒂尔让马来西亚成了举世闻名的国家，”兰卡威的选民黛比·安博克说。

Mahathir is not free from controversy¹³, after cracking down on political opponents and the judiciary when previously¹⁴ in power.

马哈蒂尔自己也并非毫无争议，此前，他曾在执政期间镇压政治对手和该国的司法系统。

In 1999, he saw his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim imprisoned¹⁵ on what many called politically motivated charges of corruption¹⁶ and sodomy.

1999年，他眼看着自己的前副手安瓦尔·易卜拉欣因腐败和鸡奸指控入狱，而很多人都称那些指控存在政治动机。

Having received a royal pardon on a second charge, Anwar has been lined up as Mahathir’s successor—

安瓦尔后来被再次指控，但他获得了王室赦免后，被列入了马哈蒂尔接班人的行列——

but the nonagenarian Prime Minister told TIME he foresees staying in office for at least two years and possibly three.

但这位90多岁的总理对本刊透露，他预计自己至少还会执政两年，也可能是三年。

“I don’t want to stay very long, but in the initial stages we need to solve a lot of problems,” he said.

“我并不想继续呆太久，但首先我们还有很多问题有待解决，”他说。

“The others do not have the experience.”

“而其他人又都没有足够的经验。”

At his first press conference back on the world stage,

在重返世界舞台后的第一次新闻发布会上，

Mahathir acknowledged that some might still view him as a “dictator.”

马哈蒂尔承认，一些人可能仍视他为“独裁者”。

“All those things are in the past,” he said, “and we have work to do for the future of our country.”

“那些事情都过去了，”他说，“为了我们国家的未来，我们还有工作要做。”

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 embezzled   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The clerk embezzled a thousand pounds from the bank where he worked. 那个职员在他工作的银行里贪污了一千英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cashier embezzled ＄ 50,000 from the bank. 出纳员盗用了银行5万美元。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

11 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

12 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

13 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

14 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

15 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。