Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is facing calls for his resignation, after his ruling coalition lost critical ground to opposition parties in general elections. The coalition, in power for five decades, suffered the biggest election setback in its history Saturday.
马来西亚总理巴达维面临着要他辞职的呼吁，此前他的执政联盟在议会选举中被反对党夺去关键的议席。这个执政长达五十年的联盟在星期六的选举中受挫，这是该联盟有史以来最惨重的一次受挫。
It was a stunning setback for the multi-racial Barisan Nasional or National Front coalition of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. After winning a more than 90 percent majority of parliamentary seats in the last elections four years ago, it now has only a simple majority in parliament - short of the two-thirds needed to make constitutional changes. The coalition also lost several states to the opposition.
对总理巴达维领导的由多民族组成的国民阵线来说，这是一个极大的受挫。国民阵线在四年前的大选中赢得了超过90%的议会席位，而这次只赢得了略微超过50%的选票，不够进行修改宪法所需的三分之二席位。该联盟还把好几个州的控制权输给了反对派。
Critics accuse Mr. Badawi's government of mishandling racial tensions in this country of 25 million people. One-third of the population is made up of ethnic minorities, mainly Chinese and Indian.
批评人士谴责巴达维的政府对马来西亚两百五十万人的种族紧张处理不当。该国三分之一的人口是由少数民族组成的，主要是华人和印度族人。
But analysts note that much of the loss of support happened among the majority Malay Muslims who voiced their anger at the coalition, accusing it of complacency and corruption.
但是分析人士提出，国民阵线这次主要是失去了主要民族马来族穆斯林的支持，这些人对联合阵线感到气愤，说该阵线骄傲自满，贪污腐败。
Mr. Badawi says he does not plan to resign. Leading the calls for him to go is the man who hand-picked him, long-ruling former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who accused Mr. Badawi of destroying the governing coalition.
巴达维说，他不打算辞职。这次呼吁他辞职呼声最高的人，是曾经亲手提拔他的、长期执政的前总理马哈蒂尔。他谴责巴达维毁掉了执政联盟。
"I think he needs to consider stepping down," said Mahathir.
马哈蒂尔说：“我认为他需要考虑下台了。”
The former leader told reporters he was sorry that he had chosen Mr. Badawi as his successor.
这位前总理告诉记者，他很抱歉选择了巴达维当他的继任者。
He indicated he does not blame people for voting against the Barisan Nasional, known as the BN.
"This is more my strong feelings against BN than strong feelings for the opposition. They had no choice. If you do not vote BN, who do you vote for? There are only two candidates," he added. "So you vote for the opposition, or you do not vote at all. Either way, the BN is going to lose a lot of support."
Analysts say the ruling coalition will have to work hard to win back the support it lost - especially among disillusioned non-Malays whose protests could lead to instability. James Chin, a politics professor at Monash University's Kuala Lumpur campus says the coalition will look for pragmatic ways to rebuild support, or face extinction.
分析人士说，执政联盟必须努力赢回失去的支持，特别是那些大失所望的非马来族人，这些人举行抗议的话可能会导致不稳定。莫那什大学吉隆坡校区的政治学教授詹姆斯.真说，该联盟将寻求以务实的方式重建支持，要不然就面临着灭亡。
"This is a strong wake-up call for the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition to do something about the grievances of the non-Malay community. I believe that the Barisan Nasional government has heard this message loud and clear, and that they will do something about it because they need to win the next election," said Chin.
他说：“这是对国民阵线执政联盟的一个强有力的警告，让他们对非马来社区的苦痛做些事情。我相信国民阵线政府已经听到了这个响亮清晰的信号，他们会采取行动，因为他们需要赢得下次的选举。”
Many in the now-stronger opposition are rallying for an end to Malaysia's system of race-based politics and set-asides that benefit Muslim Malays. The governing coalition, in power since independence in 1957, is made up of race-specific parties that are supposed to represent each of the major ethnic groups.
目前变得更加强大的反对派中的许多人举行集会，呼吁结束马来西亚系统中让马来族穆斯林受益的带有种族偏见的政治体系和财政分配制度。自1957年马来西亚独立以来一直掌权的执政联盟是由各种族政党组成的，他们代表每个主要的民族。
Malaysia has long prided itself as a model for ethnic harmony. That image was tarnished in recent months when police used teargas and water cannon to suppress demonstrations by thousands of ethnic Indians who were protesting what they say is discrimination by the majority Muslim Malays.
马来西亚长久以来一直以民族和谐而自豪。最近几个月以来，警方使用催泪瓦斯和高压水炮镇压由几千名印度族人组成的示威人群，这种镇压破坏了马来西亚的形像。这些人抗议他们所说的主要民族马来族穆斯林对他们的歧视。 |