VOA标准英语2010年-Anwar Sodomy Trial Hurts Malaysia's Re

Malaysian opposition¹ leader Anwar Ibrahim leaves the High court in Kuala Lumpur on February 8, 2010

In Malaysia the sodomy trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is to resume after the Court of Appeals rejected a motion to strike down the charges. No matter the outcome, the salacious nature of the charge of sodomy in a Muslim majority country could ruin Anwar's political future. And as VOA reports, the political overtones involved in the case may also damage Malaysia reputation as a progressive, Islamic democracy.

Anwar Ibrahim has been through this before. In 1998 while serving as the vice² prime minister of Malaysia he was charged with sodomy, barred from parliament for a decade, and sentenced to nine years in jail. But in 2004 the conviction was overturned. Anwar says this second charge of sodomy is another attempt by the government to eliminate him as a political threat.

"I think the whole intention of this (inaudible) prosecution³ today is to smear⁴ my name, my good name and image with scurrilous⁵ attack on my character, but I believe, as in the case of 1998, when they talk with (inaudible) all the matters, everything will be expunged⁶ at the right time. So we have to remain patient and we will give a good fight," Ibrahim said.

Anwar is nothing if not resilient. In 2008 he came back to lead a three-party coalition⁷ called the People's Alliance that made significant gains in the general election. The vote ended the ruling party's two-thirds majority in parliament.

In that election many Muslim Malays, who traditionally support the leading party, the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, broke ranks and voted for the opposition.

Soon after Anwar was charged again with sodomy.

Charles Santiago is a member of parliament with the Democratic Action Party, which is in the People's Alliance. He says the charge was calculated to destroy Anwar's reputation within the Muslim community.  "Anwar is seen as an Islamist leader, a Muslim leader, not only in this country but also elsewhere in the Muslim world," he explained. "And I think there is a perception that if his name is tarnished⁸, especially involving sodomy or homosexual activities, then once and for all you destroy him both as a political leader and more importantly as an Islamic leader."

The current charge against Anwar includes allegations that in 2008 he had sexual relations with Mohd Saiful Bukhari bin⁹ Azlan, his 23-year-old male volunteer aide. Although initially¹⁰ filed as a non-consensual offense¹¹, prosecutors¹² later changed the charge to consensual sodomy, though Saiful has not been charged. A conviction would force Anwar to vacate his seat in parliament and bar him from contesting the next general election, expected before 2012.

While sodomy is rarely prosecuted¹³ in Malaysia, UMNO official Syed Ali AlHabshee says once an accusation¹⁴ was made about a high-profile politician the government had to act.

 "I mean whether he is right or not, I believe the government is giving him the fair trial. And he has the best lawyers. He's got everything with him. But he is a very smart politician. He tells the world that our judiciary is not fair," AlHabshee said.

This time Anwar's supporters wonder, even if he wins in court, can his political reputation survive?

Malaysia's international reputation as a progressive Islamic democracy is also being called into question. Some international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have urged Malaysia to drop the charges and decriminalize consensual homosexual conduct.

Zakaria Ahmad, a professor of politics with Help University in Kuala Lumpur, says the lurid¹⁵ headlines involving sex and political misconduct is making Malaysians more cynical¹⁶ about all politicians.

"Most people here have already come to the conclusion that politicians are all the same," Ahmad said. "You know what I mean? They just want to get power and they are all corrupt¹⁷."

The trial was delayed repeatedly before it opened on February 2nd. It will resume now that Malaysia's Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision to proceed. The Court of Appeal ruled rejected Anwar's motion to dismiss the case, saying he had "not shown that the charge against him was oppressive and an abuse of court."
 

1 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。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

4 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

5 scurrilous   

adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的

参考例句：

• Scurrilous and untrue stories were being invented.有人正在捏造虚假诽谤的故事。
• She was often quite scurrilous in her references to me.她一提起我,常常骂骂咧咧的。

6 expunged   

v.擦掉( expunge的过去式和过去分词 )；除去；删去；消除

参考例句：

• Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file. 他犯罪活动的详细情况已从档案中删去。
• His name is expunged from the list. 他的名字从名单中被除掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 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。

8 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

14 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

15 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

16 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

17 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。