馬來西亞應向新加坡學習 Leader Malaysia can learn from Singapore governance

Fifty years ago, Malaysia expelled Singapore from the federation and the two entities went their separate ways. So distraught was Lee Kuan Yew, then Singapore’s chief minister, that he shed tears in public for the first and last time in his long and extraordinary career. Half a century later, it should be Malaysians who are crying.

50年前，馬來西亞將新加坡驅逐出馬來西亞聯邦，兩個實體從此分道揚鑣。時任新加坡首席部長的李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)當時如此悲痛，以至於他首次——也是漫長而非凡的政治生涯中最後一次——在公開場合落淚。半個世紀後，流淚的應該是馬來西亞人。

Undoubtedly, Singapore has its problems. Its brand of authoritarian guided development has delivered prosperity and produced the world’s slickest city state. But many Singaporeans feel something is missing in their controlled society, a hole that cannot be filled by economic growth. Yet whatever difficulties Singapore faces, these pale in comparison with those of Malaysia. Not only is Malaysia going through its worst political crisis in years after hundreds of millions of dollars found their way into the bank account of Najib Razak, the prime minister. More critically, Malaysia has been undergoing a long-term meltdown in which the political, religious and ethnic compact that has underpinned the country since independence groans under its own rotten contradictions.

新加坡無疑有它的問題。其特有的威權指引發展模式帶來了繁榮，締造了世界上最高效的城市國家。但許多新加坡人覺得，他們身處的受控社會是有缺失的，而這種缺失是經濟增長填補不了的。然而，無論新加坡面對什麼困難，這些困難與馬來西亞相比實在算不了什麼。馬來西亞正在經歷多年來最嚴峻的政治危機，起因是該國總理納吉布拉扎克(Najib Razak)的銀行賬戶不知怎麼多出了數億美元。更嚴重的是，馬來西亞正走在長期的下坡路上，自獨立以來支撐着該國的政治、宗教和民族“契約”在自己造成的嚴重矛盾下岌岌可危。

For all the doubts that nag at Singapore, from democracy to demography, the city has been an incredible success. Its per capita gross domestic product, $56,000 in nominal terms, is more than five times that of Malaysia’s $11,000.

儘管有各種疑慮困擾着新加坡（從民主體制到人口結構），這個城市國家仍是一個令人難以置信的成功故事。其5.6萬美元的名義人均國內生產總值(GDP)，是馬來西亞1.1萬美元的五倍多。

True, in the post-Lee era, Singapore’s People’s Action party, which has held power since independence, has lost its aura of infallibility. Nearly 40 per cent of Singaporeans voted against it in the last elections. Yet, the PAP is still widely regarded as honest and competent. The same cannot be said for the United Malays National Organisation, which has clung on to power for nearly six decades. Its leader is now embroiled in a scandal linked to state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which has racked up $11bn in debt. The country’s anti-corruption agency has denied media allegations that $675m in Mr Razak’s account came from 1MDB — it says the money came from an unnamed Middle East donor. Mr Razak denies any wrongdoing. But whatever the truth in that case, UMNO has long fronted a thoroughly corrupt political system. Malaysia’s public senses this. In the 2013 election, UMNO lost the popular vote but scraped into power thanks to an electoral system stacked in its favour. Since then, the state, too often synonymous with UMNO, has turned its guns on the opposition, jailing its leader Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of sodomy.

沒錯，在後李光耀時代，自新加坡獨立以來一直執政的人民行動黨(PAP)失去了絕對正確的光環。在近期的選舉中，近40%的新加坡人投票反對該黨。然而，人民行動黨仍被普遍認爲是誠實和能幹的。這樣的評價不適用於在馬來西亞抱住權位近60年不放的馬來民族統一機構（UMNO，中文簡稱：巫統）。其領導人現在捲入了涉及政府投資基金——揹負110億美元債務的“1MDB”(1Malaysia Development Berhad)的醜聞。該國反腐敗機構否認了有關納吉布賬戶上的6.75億美元來自1MDB的媒體指控；該機構稱這筆錢來自一中東捐贈者，但未披露姓名。納吉布否認自己有任何不當行爲。但是，無論該案的是非曲直如何，巫統都長期領導着一個徹底腐敗的政治體制。馬來西亞公衆意識到這一點。在2013年的選舉中，巫統在票數上失利，但藉助一套對其有利的選舉制度勉強繼續掌權。自那以來，往往已成爲巫統同義詞的馬來西亞政府對反對黨開刀，以雞姦罪名監禁反對黨領導人安瓦爾易卜拉欣(Anwar Ibrahim)。

In one sense comparing the two countries is unfair. Singapore, with a population of only 5m, is a city. Malaysia, with 450 times the land area and a population of 30m, is harder to govern. Lee, Singapore’s founding father who died in March, held Singapore tightly in his mostly benevolent grip. It is hard to see how such micromanagement could have worked in a much bigger country.

在某種意義上，對比這兩個國家是不公平的。人口僅500萬的新加坡是一個城市。陸地面積是新加坡450倍、人口3000萬的馬來西亞顯然更難治理。3月去世的新加坡開國總理李光耀以總體上仁慈的手腕牢牢掌管着國家。很難看出這樣的微觀管理能在一個大得多的國家奏效。

Still, both countries have potentially combustible ethnic mixes. Singapore has done better at forging a sense of fairness and national unity, through language, meritocracy and incorruptibility. Malaysia, in the name of protecting Malays through positive discrimination, has by contrast created a crony capitalist state. It should learn from Singapore. It should show zero tolerance for corruption, starting with Mr Najib, who must clear his name or step down. Preferential treatment for Malays should be phased out and the government should forge policies of national unity, not ones of division based on religion or Malay ethnicity. Singapore has created a strong foundation from which it can move forward. Malaysia must stop the rot, or slip disastrously backwards.

話雖如此，這兩個國家都存在容易產生衝突的多民族問題。新加坡藉助語言、任人唯賢和廉潔制度，在營造公平和民族團結意識方面做得更好。馬來西亞則以保護馬來人爲名明確實行歧視政策，搞成了一個裙帶資本主義國家。馬來西亞應該學習新加坡的經驗。它應該表現出對腐敗的零容忍，從納吉布開始，他必須要麼證明自己清白，要麼下臺。優待馬來人的政策應該被取消，政府應該出臺民族團結政策，而不是基於宗教或馬來族裔的分裂政策。新加坡夯實了一個讓國家能夠向前邁進的堅實基礎。馬來西亞必須刮骨療毒，否則就可能災難性地向後倒退。