美国国家公共电台 NPR--Will young voters in Malaysia revive the career of a 97-year-old politician?

Will young voters in Malaysia revive the career of a 97-year-old politician?

Transcript¹

Age is an issue in Malaysia's parliamentary election. For older politicians, including the 97-year-old former prime minister who is contesting a seat, their fate may rest with young voters.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Joe Biden will turn 80 years old in a few days. And being the oldest president in U.S. history has stirred up debate over whether he's too old to run again. A similar conversation is playing out in Southeast Asia this week, where Malaysia's 97-year-old former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, is vying² for an against-the-odds comeback in the election to pick a new parliament. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that in an election where age has become an issue, young voters could shake things up.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE³: Malaysia's youth could be the kingmakers in Saturday's election thanks to two reforms. Voting age was lowered to 18. And everyone eligible⁴ to vote has been automatically registered. It's a dramatic shift that bumps up the voter rolls from 15 million to 21 million. Analyst⁵ James Chai (ph) says that's a nearly 30% increase in the size of the electorate⁶.

JAMES CHAI: So fundamentally, the biggest unknown in the election is now that group of new voters, who are largely consisting of people below 30 years old.

MCCARTHY: Like its Southeast Asian neighbors, Malaysia is tracking younger, with 30 the average age. And Chai says generational tensions simmer in this election, as many young people attribute the problems of the country to leaders who don't understand them because they are too old. That former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is contesting a seat in his late 90s speaks to the perceived mismatch between the traditional ruling class and the country's changing demographic. And some analysts⁷ say his bid is doomed⁸.

But the age gap is advantaging younger politicians, who are better positioned to reach young potential supporters where they live, on social media. Twenty-nine-year-old Syed Saddiq, one of the country's youngest politicians, is running for parliament and uses TikTok to air the grievances⁹ of young people in short, snappy clips.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Economically, our country is - we're just going way too low, lower than we should be.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Poor education system.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Money laundering¹⁰ cases, abuse of power.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Microforms of racism¹¹. Microforms of sexism.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: They think we are too young to think for ourselves.

MCCARTHY: Saddiq, a rising political star with more than 3 million followers¹² on social media platforms, says the TikTok generation wants to move beyond the old guard. And it's why he launched a new youth party in 2020.

SYED SADDIQ: It's meant to be a party of disrupters to disrupt Malaysian politics because among the Malaysian masses, they see the political elites¹³ engaging in political power plays in which they get richer and richer, their cronies get richer and richer, corruption¹⁴ gets far worse, institutions of democracy weaken. And young people are fed up.

MCCARTHY: Many young Malaysians these days support inclusion, pluralism. And there's growing acceptance of social issues such as LGBTQ rights. Many are alienated¹⁵ by the litany of corruption scandals that has engulfed¹⁶ the incumbent¹⁷ ruling coalition¹⁸. And that could benefit opposition¹⁹ candidates who take to the campaign trail, like Syed Saddiq.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MCCARTHY: He says, besides corruption, the incumbent government has done little to address rising youth unemployment in the country's pandemic-ravaged economy. And Saddiq says his asset-light generation is angry.

SADDIQ: We don't own a car. We cannot own a house. We can't even get a bank loan to get a mortgage on a house.

MCCARTHY: Saddiq says their dire²⁰ straits will animate²¹ turnout. In fact, according to a new survey, nearly eight out of 10 young people said they would vote. If they do, young Malaysians could move their country in a new direction.

Julie McCarthy, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF EVENINGS' "STILL YOUNG")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

9 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

12 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

13 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

14 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。

15 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。

20 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

21 animate   

v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的

参考例句：

• We are animate beings,living creatures.我们是有生命的存在，有生命的动物。
• The girls watched,little teasing smiles animating their faces.女孩们注视着，脸上挂着调皮的微笑，显得愈加活泼。