VOA标准英语10月-Malaysia's Prime Minister to Step Down in March

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says he will step down in March. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta reports the announcement was made amid turmoil¹ in the ruling party.
　

Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gestures before press conference in Kuala Lumpur, 08 Oct 2008

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced he was stepping down from his post in March - four years before the end of his term - to save his ruling party from splitting.

Mr. Abdullah, whose announcement was widely expected, said he would nominate his deputy, Najib Razak, as party president of the ruling Barisan Nacional.

The ruling-party president automatically becomes prime minister.

Abdullah has been facing mounting pressure to resign since his United Malays National Organization, called UMNO - which forms the core of the Barisan Nacional coalition² - lost its majority rule in the March general elections to the opposition³ coalition.

Abdullah said his decision to resign was to keep the party coalition united.

"I will not stand for the presidency⁴ of UMNO in the coming party election," he said. "I do not want a divided party and governing coalition, but one that is united and harmonious⁵. A united Barisan Nacional is vital in order for the country to face the global challenges ahead and for Malaysia to become a fully⁶ developed nation with prosperity and fairness to all."

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly said he has enough parliamentary defectors to bring down the government, despite facing sodomy charges he says are politically motivated.

But political analyst⁷ Khoo Kay Peng says with the country facing economic and political turmoil, both coalitions⁸ will need to work together no matter who is prime minister.

"You need a national unity⁹ government because Malaysia at the moment has a very highly centralized federal government. And with the political contestation going on between the two coalitions, you will make it very difficult for it to work ... so I think the point is that we will have to see whether the two of them can come now to their senses and say that for now the focus has to be on the economy," said Khoo Kay Peng.

Analysts¹⁰ say Malaysia's economy, already hard hit by the high price of oil - inflation reached a 27-year high this month - will further slow down because of the global financial crisis, with growth expected at just three percent in 2009.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 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。

3 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。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 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。

8 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 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。