【导读】与所有大人物一样，与泰益·马哈茂德相伴的是赞誉与争议。在他治下，砂拉越取得了长足的发展。但这也以牺牲土著居民的权利等为代价。近日这位砂拉越的主人即将宣布退休，不过他仍将长久地影响着这片土地的未来。
Malaysia’s Sarawak
马来西亚砂拉越
Last of the rajahs
最后的拉惹
A powerful chief minister bows out—or does he?
这位极具权势的首席部长要退位了——真会退吗？
Feb 15th 2014 | KUALA LUMPUR | From the print edition
FEW of Asia’s elected leaders have enjoyed the power of Abdul Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of Sarawak. For 33 years he lorded it over this Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, once densely forested and still rich in oil. Mr Taib was an appropriate successor to generations of the British Brooke family, who ran the territory as their own monarchy for a century from 1841. They were known as the White Rajahs. Their 77-year-old, white-haired modern equivalent, Mr Taib, will officially retire on February 28th, passing the job to a hand-picked successor, Adenan Saten. Mr Taib, though, will probably get another comfortable job himself, retaining much influence.
几乎没有哪位亚洲民选领导人，能像砂拉越州首席部长泰益·马哈茂德一样有权有势。砂拉越州曾经森林密布，如今依然富有石油，而泰益，已经统治了婆罗洲岛上的这片土地长达33年之久。自1841年起的一个世纪里，英国殖民者布鲁克家族占有着砂拉越州。这里是他们的私有王国，人们称他们为「白人拉惹」。而泰益则是“王国”的合适继承者。这位白发苍苍的现代拉惹现年77岁，准备在2月28号正式退休。他指定阿迪南·萨腾作为他的继任者。而泰益本人可能会得到另一个闲适职位，从而继续保持他的影响力。
Few have contributed more, for better and for worse, to the course of modern Malaysian history. Mr Taib has played a crucial role in keeping the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in power—it has ruled ever since Malaysia won independence from Britain in 1957. The two former British possessions on Borneo, Sabah and Sarawak, joined the new federation of Malaysia in 1963 (together with Singapore, which dropped out two years later). Ever since, east Malaysia has supplied the oil and votes that the BN needs.
不管怎样，很少有人能像泰益一样，对现代马来西亚的历史进程做出过如此之大的贡献。自1957年英国殖民地马来西亚独立起，直到今天，国民阵线就一直是执政党。而泰益则是确保国民阵线掌权的关键人物。婆罗洲岛上的沙巴州、砂拉越州是原英国殖民地，并于1963年加入了马来西亚联邦（新加坡同时加入，并于两年后退出）。从那时起，这片东马来西亚的土地就一直向国民阵线输送着石油与选票。
Oil revenues have fuelled the country’s breakneck development, while the votes have kept the coalition’s stranglehold on federal power even as its share of the vote has dropped steeply over time in peninsular Malaysia. Gerrymandering by the BN means that Sabah and Sarawak, largely rural and sparsely inhabited, fill almost a quarter of the federal parliament’s seats, out of all proportion to their populations. Mr Taib has secured the vote every time. The 25 seats out of a possible 31 that his own political machine, allied to the BN, won in the general election last year was, with the seats that the BN’s allies won in Sabah, the difference between the coalition holding on to power and electoral humiliation.
来自砂拉越的石油收入是马来西亚快速发展的动力，而本地的选票则力保国民阵线掌控马来西亚联邦的大权，尽管近些年来这个执政联盟在马来半岛的支持率一路走低。通过在选区划分上做手脚，国民阵线使得地广人稀，拥有大片乡村的沙巴州、砂拉越州在联邦议会中拥有了近四分之一的席位——比这些地区的人口占比还高。每次选举泰益都会为国民阵线保驾护航。去年的大选中，他操纵着自己的政治机器，与国民阵线联手，在31个议会席位中拿下了25个。泰益与国民阵线在沙巴州的盟友一道，将国民阵线保送上台。要是没有了这两个地方的选票，国民阵线很有可能会遭遇惨败。
His electoral muscle has given Mr Taib disproportionate political clout. He has run Sarawak single-handedly, with little accounting to anyone. His supporters credit him with presiding over an era of unparalleled development, transforming a disease-ridden backwater into a relatively modern state and well-known tourist destination. He has also used his clout with the central government to insist upon an impressive degree of local autonomy for Sarawak, thus preserving its special ethnic and religious make-up in the federation.
泰益的选举实力赋予了他异乎寻常的政治势力。他撇开其他所有人，独自治理着砂拉越。支持者们称颂泰益，认为是他主导了这个前所未有的快速发展时代，将这本来百病缠身的一汪死水建设成了知名的旅游胜地，成为了相对现代化的砂拉越州。泰益还在中央政府动用了他的影响力，为砂拉越州争取到了相当程度的地方自治权，使得砂拉越州独特的种族与宗教构成得以保存。
In Sarawak Malays are only the third-largest ethnic group. About 40 ethnic groups make up the largest proportion of the population, of which the indigenous Iban is the biggest. The second-biggest group are ethnic Chinese. Mr Taib himself comes from the Melanau, accounting for about 6% of the population. Sarawak also boasts a variety of religions, and there are more Christians than Muslims. While preserving this diversity, Mr Taib has also mastered and exploited ethnic divisions to build his political base, a process greased by cash at election time to persuade people to vote the right way.
马来族只是砂拉越州的第三大种族。砂拉越人中绝大部分来自40个不同的种族，其中最多的是土著伊班人。第二大种族是华族。而泰益本人则是马拉诺人，这一族大约占州内总人口的6%。砂拉越境内还有许多不同的宗教，其中基督徒的数目要比穆斯林多。泰益保留下了民族与宗教的多元化，控制并利用民族间的分裂，以此来作为自己特殊「私有王国」的政治根基。他还在选举时候发放现金，来鼓励选民「正确地」投票。
But for all the chief minister’s insistence on Sarawak’s exceptionalism, legions of critics argue that it was a smokescreen for his administration and its friends to exploit the country. Mr Taib, who drives around in a Rolls-Royce and flies by private jet, has for several years been under investigation by the country’s anti-graft agency. Environmentalists say that under him Sarawak has lost nine-tenths of its virgin rainforest, most of it converted into lucrative palm-oil concessions. This has resulted in a huge loss in biodiversity.
但其他州的首席部长容不下砂拉越这个例外，他们发起了如潮水般的攻击，指责说多元化种种只是泰益的烟雾弹，他是为了一己私利分裂国家。出门劳斯莱斯，上天私人飞机，泰益这些年来一直在接受国家反腐机构的调查。环保主义者声称在泰益治下，砂拉越失去了近九成的原始森林，大自然要为更有利可图的棕榈油生产让步。这导致了生物多样性的极大损失。
Widespread deforestation has resulted in numerous battles over indigenous land rights. Local Iban have suffered from the bulldozing and development of their lands by state-backed logging companies and have sought redress in the courts. A Malaysian expert on indigenous land rights, Colin Nicholas, says at least 200 such cases are now working their way through the courts in Sarawak. Non-governmental organisations say that, in this regard, the chief minister has been more foe than friend to the Iban and other ethnic groups.
大规模滥砍滥伐引起了无数次关于土著地权的争斗。国家背景的伐木公司大肆推平并开发土地，让土著伊班人吃尽了苦头。他们已经上法庭申诉，要求赔偿。马来西亚土著地权专家柯林·尼古拉斯表示，至少有200桩案件正在砂拉越当地法庭进行审理。而非政府组织称，有鉴于此，比起其他种族，土著伊班族更把泰益当做是敌人。
Some argue that, with Mr Taib stepping down, the BN might try to exert more direct control over politics in Sarawak, as they have in Sabah. But Mr Taib will probably become the state governor. This is a largely ceremonial role, like that of a royal sultan in peninsular Malay states. But from this position he will retain plenty of influence over Sarawak; it is unlikely that anything very much will change. What is more, in his new role Mr Taib could well enjoy immunity from prosecution, although the exact legal position is unclear. Either way, Tian Chua, of the opposition Democratic Action Party, says that Mr Taib has become the “Vladimir Putin of Sarawak”.
有人说，像沙巴州一样，在泰益退休以后，国民阵线可能会试着加强对砂拉越州政局的直接控制。不过接下来泰益很有可能就任州元首。与马来半岛各州的世袭苏丹一样，这是荣誉性的职位。不过泰益也会在这个位置上对砂拉越保持足够的影响力；事情不太会有很大变化。此外，尽管确切的法律地位并不明白，但泰益将因就任州元首而享有司法豁免权。正如反对党民主行动党的Tian Chua所言，无论如何，泰益都将成为「砂拉越的弗拉基米尔·普金」。
From the print edition: Asia
