VOA常速英语2014--Malaysians Brace Themselves as Government Cuts Key Subsidies 马来西亚政府削减关键补贴 平衡预算

 

Malaysians Brace¹ Themselves as Government Cuts Key Subsidies² 马来西亚政府削减关键补贴 平衡预算

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities are slashing³ subsidies on fuel, natural gas and sugar in a bid to get government debt under control. As the steps take a hit on consumers’ finances, critics say authorities should instead target government waste and graft⁴.

为了控制政府国债问题，马来西亚当局削减对燃料、天然气以及糖类的补助。这个措施由于对消费者的打击遭到抨击，批评家说，马来西亚政府应该把矛头指向政府浪费和贪污问题。

The Malaysian government has been running deficits⁶ since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Late last year, it took its first major step to reign⁷ in spending by slashing huge fuel subsidies.

从1998年亚洲金融危机以来，马来西亚政府的预算就一直处于赤字。去年晚些时候，马来西亚政府大幅削减燃料补贴，这是为了控制支出所采取的第一个主要步骤。

People, like mother of two Chan Sook Peng, say that prices of essential goods have already shot up since then.

陈淑彭是两个孩子的母亲。她说，从那时开始，生活必需品的价格就已经狂涨。

“Actually I am very worried. We just try to go out less, eat out less, cook more at home, pull all our plugs from the power source just to try and save our electricity. We try to save our water,” says Peng.

陈淑彭说：“其实我很担心。我们只能少出门、少在外头吃饭，多在家煮饭，为了省电，不用电器的时候把插头拔掉，并且节省用水。”

Malaysians are bracing⁸ themselves for worse to come.

马来西亚民众已经做了最坏的打算。

The government has said it will introduce a long-delayed Goods and Services Tax starting next year. And it recently announced increases to highway tolls⁹, electricity tariffs¹⁰ and public transportation fares. Economist¹¹ Yeah Kim Leng of the Rating Agency of Malaysia supports the moves.

政府表示，明年开始将推出拖延已久的商品及服务税，政府最近也宣布，将增收高速公路通行费、电费和大众交通的票价。马来西亚经济学家姚金龙支持这些措施。

“Its important that the government rationalize the subsidies because it now makes up more than half the fiscal¹² deficit⁵ and that in itself is not sustainable,” said Leng.

他说：“政府把补贴合理化是非常重要的，因为这些补贴造成超过半数的政府负债，不能这样长期延续下去。”

Only around one tenth of Malaysia’s working population actually pays income tax. And the government relies on the royalties¹³ from the state oil company, Petronas, for up to 40 percent of its revenue.

大约只有十分之一的马来西亚工作人口真正在缴所得税。政府的税收40%来自马来西亚国家石油公司的特许权使用费。

Some distribution of the burden is therefore needed, says Leng.

“This so-called overreliance on the national oil company is actually not prudent¹⁴. So that's the basis for actually implementing¹⁶ the long-awaited GST,” says Leng.

姚金龙说：“这种所谓对国家石油公司的过度依赖实际上并不慎重。因此才会实施政府规划已久的商品及服务税。”

The political opposition¹⁷ says it is not against trimming subsidies or other spending cuts in principle.

马来西亚在野党说，原则上它并不反对削减补贴或者其他削减开支的做法。

But opposition politician Rafizi Ramli of the People’s Justice Party points to the government’s own auditor¹⁸ general’s reports, which he says show a huge waste of public funds year after year. 

不过，反对党政界人物拉菲日?拉姆利指出，马来西亚审计长在报告中点出每年都有巨额浪费公帑的问题。

“No matter how many new taxes you implement¹⁵, no matter how [many] new stream[s] of income you bring to the government, unless there is a discipline to get rid of wastages [waste], corruption²⁰, to re-look at the procurement²¹ practices of the country, it's like pouring money into a black hole,” says Ramli.

拉菲日?拉姆利说：“不管征收多少新的税收明目，不管政府如何开源，除非破除浪费与贪污的问题，重新检讨政府采购的做法，否则，就好像把钱倒入一个大黑洞里。”

International surveys indicate Malaysia is comparatively less corrupt¹⁹ than other countries in Southeast Asia. Just before the new year, Prime Minister Najib Razak did announce some cuts to spending allowances for Members of Parliament and civil servants.

国际调查显示，相较于其他东南亚国家，马来西亚的腐败问题较不严重。就在新年前夕，马来西亚首相纳吉?阿都拉萨宣布一些削减议会成员和公务员的开支津贴措施。

But busy Malaysian mother Chan Sook Peng say those cuts are nothing compared to the sacrifices people like her will have to make just to get by.

不过，忙碌的马来西亚妈妈陈淑彭说，这跟一般民众为了过基本生活而做的牺牲来比，根本不算什么。

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

4 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

9 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

10 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

13 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

14 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

15 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

16 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

17 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。

18 auditor   

n.审计员，旁听着

参考例句：

• The auditor was required to produce his working papers.那个审计员被要求提供其工作底稿。
• The auditor examines the accounts of all county officers and departments.审计员查对所有县官员及各部门的帐目。

19 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。

20 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。

21 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。