Malaysia politics: $4 sandals vs luxury Birkin bags
馬來西亞政治對手的較量：4美元的涼鞋VS奢侈品Birkin包
There's a classic quote from Sex and the City that goes: "It's not a bag. It's a Birkin".
《慾望都市》中有一句經典臺詞:“這不是包。這是Birkin”。
The French luxury handbag, an international symbol of wealth and status, made a return to the spotlight this week in an unlikely place: a shopping trolley pushed by police in Malaysia.
本週，在馬來西亞警方的推動下，這個在國際上代表著財富和地位象徵的法國奢侈手提包在出乎意料的地方-馬來西亞警方的購物手推車裡，再次成為人們關注的焦點。
Late Wednesday night, dozens of armed police officers raided the private apartments of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, a week after his dramatic election defeat to former ally, Mahathir Mohammad.
在選舉中慘敗給前盟友馬哈蒂爾·穆罕默德的一週後，週三深夜，數十名武裝警察突襲搜查了前總理納吉布·拉扎克的私人公寓。
In further raids on properties linked to him, police seized more than 200 boxes of luxury items, along with 72 bags of jewellery, cash of various denominations, watches and other valuables.
警方進一步搜查了他的財物，查獲了200多箱奢侈品，以及72袋珠寶、面額不等的現金、手錶和其他貴重物品。
Among the haul were dozens of orange boxes containing Hermes bags (orange is the brand's signature colour) apparently belonging to former first lady Rosmah Mansor.
其中有數十個裝著愛馬仕手袋的橙色盒子(橙色是該品牌的標誌性顏色)，顯然屬於前第一夫人羅瑪·曼索爾。
A Hermes Birkin bag can cost anything from $8,000 (£6,000) to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Much of the police action was live-streamed online, so Malaysians have watched as the precious bags were loaded on to supermarket shopping trolleys ("The irony of this scene," tweeted one Malaysian) before being loaded on to waiting police trucks and taken away.
愛馬仕鉑金包的售價從8000美元（6000英鎊）到數十萬美元不等。警方的大部分行動都在網上直播，所以馬來西亞人都看到這些奢侈包被裝在了超市購物車裡（“這個場面十分諷刺”，一名馬來西亞人在推特上說道），然後被裝上了一旁等待的警車並被帶走。
Mr Najib's lawyer has complained that the raids amount to "unwarranted harassment" and that the items seized "would seem of insignificant value".
納吉布的律師抱怨說，這些突襲行動是“毫無證據的騷擾”，而被扣押的物品“並非價值不菲”。
But for many Malaysians, the haul symbolises the corruption allegations and reported lavish living which contributed to Mr Najib's downfall.
但對許多馬來西亞人來說，這一事件象徵著腐敗指控，並有報道稱奢侈的生活導致了納吉布的下臺。
Malaysian police have confirmed that the raids on properties across the capital, Kuala Lumpur, were related to investigations into 1MDB, a major corruption scandal.
馬來西亞警方已經證實，對首都吉隆坡的搜查行動與 “一馬發展”基金(簡稱1MDB)的調查有關，這是一起重大的腐敗醜聞。
Mr Najib is accused of pocketing some $700m from the fund, which was meant to boost foreign investment in the country.
納吉布被指控從該基金中侵吞了約7億美元，聲稱是為了促進外資投資。
He has always denied this and has been cleared by Malaysian authorities. But he is still being investigated in several other countries - and may face charges again in Malaysia.
According to the US Justice Department, billions of dollars are missing.
他一直否認這一指控，而且馬來西亞當局也在澄清。但他仍在其他幾個國家接受調查，並可能在馬來西亞再次面臨指控。據美國司法部稱，數十億美元離奇失蹤。
Over the years, Ms Rosmah's indulgent shopping habits and her love for branded goods have cultivated widespread resentment from many Malaysians.
多年來，羅瑪女士放縱的購物習慣和對奢侈品的熱愛，引起了許多馬來西亞人的普遍不滿。
So on social media, the raids fuelled intense discussion. #Birkin has been trending on Twitter.
因此，在社交媒體上，這次突襲引發了激烈的討論。#Birkin在Twitter上的熱度居高不下。
"Victoria Beckham is well known for owning as many as 100 Birkin bags but it looks like someone else might have taken over her throne," said this Twitter user. "I just don't understand why Rosmah needed 284 pieces," tweeted another user Aisyah Sukor.
一位Twitter用戶說：“維多利亞·貝克漢姆以擁有多達100個Birkin包而聞名，但這似乎看起來像是有人已經接替了她的寶座。”“我只是不明白Rosmah為什麼需要284個Birkin，”推特上的另一位用戶Aisyah Sukor說。
Some even said they were not aware that such luxurious bags existed until Ms Rosmah came along.
有些人甚至表示，直到Rosmah女士出現之前，他們並不知道如此奢侈的包的存在。
Although one blogger from Kedah state pointed out: "The bags are ugly but they are better investments than gold."
儘管Kedah的一位博主指出：“包很醜，卻是比黃金更好的投資。”
The raid has earned Ms Rosmah comparisons to another infamous first lady, Imelda Marcos of the Philippines, notorious for her love for shoes and jewellery.
這次突襲事件讓網友將羅哈斯女士與另一位聲名狼藉的第一夫人——菲律賓的伊梅爾達·馬科斯相提並論，她因對鞋子和珠寶的熱愛而臭名昭著。
But the scrutiny over the fashion choices of Malaysia's former ruling party did not stop at Birkin handbags. A Facebook post showcasing Malaysian politicians and the extravagant watches they wear has also been making waves on Facebook this week.
但對馬來西亞前執政黨時尚選擇的審查並沒有停留在Birkin手袋上。Facebook上的一篇文章展示了馬來西亞政客以及他們所穿戴的奢侈手錶，這周也在Facebook上引起了轟動。
In contrast - and with remarkably good timing - the new prime minister was spotted this week wearing a pair of common brown sandals at a mosque.
相比之下，會逢其適，本週新任總理被目擊在清真寺裡穿著一雙普通的棕色涼鞋。
Mahathir Mohamad's supporters took this to be a "sign of frugality", just in time for the holy month of Ramadan, a time of piety and fasting widely observed in the Muslim-majority country.
馬哈蒂爾·穆罕默德的支持者認為這是“節儉的標誌”，正好是齋月的神聖時間，在穆斯林佔多數的國家，虔誠齋戒引發眾人注目。
"Our humble Tun Mahathir [doesn't need] no Gucci or Hermes, just Bata is good to go," said a Malaysian Instagram user who first shared a picture of the new prime minister in a post that swiftly went viral. Tun is a Malay term of respect.
一位馬來西亞的Instagram用戶說:“我們的馬哈蒂爾不需要古馳或愛馬仕，只要巴塔(Bata)就好了。”Tun是一種馬來語。
Bata, a low-cost Swiss brand popular among schoolchildren in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore, cashed in on the social media hype and quickly claimed Dr Mahathir's sandals as their own in this Instagram post.
巴塔(Bata)是一個低成本的瑞士品牌，在馬來西亞和鄰國新加坡的學生中很受歡迎。巴塔在社交媒體上大肆宣傳，並在Instagram帖子中稱馬哈蒂爾的涼鞋來自於他們自己的品牌。
No surprises that the shoes have now sold out online.
不出所料，這雙鞋現在已經在網上售罄。
中英雙語呈現，還可以加強英語學習哦！
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