What will be Khalid Ibrahim's legacy?
INTERVIEW At 67, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is the first to tell you that he is in the twilight years of his career.
By his own estimation, he would spend his time in 2018 doing the following: writing books, spending time with grandson Arif (by then a pre-schooler) and reluctantly entertaining the many family cats.
So, if he is ousted by way of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim entering the state assembly, then his exit will come just a few years earlier...
INTERVIEW At 67, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is the first to tell you that he is in the twilight years of his career.
By his own estimation, he would spend his time in 2018 doing the following: writing books, spending time with grandson Arif (by then a pre-schooler) and reluctantly entertaining the many family cats.
So, if he is ousted by way of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim entering the state assembly, then his exit will come just a few years earlier.
“It doesn't really matter. I can tell all of you that I am very fortunate. It is already the end part of my career.
“I've told people (that) I believe in a two-term management. I subscribe to the American two-term management (system); and before you complete your two terms, you have to prepare the succession,” he said.
This would not be the first time Khalid is vacating a top post.
In 1994, he left Permodalan Nasional Bhd after 15 years of service as its chief executive officer and from 1995 to 2003, he headed Guthrie – now Malaysianised, thanks to the dawn raid he orchestrated in 1981.
A mountain of cash
“I am lucky to be able to experience all these. In PNB, I left something, in Guthrie I left something, in Selangor, too, I want to leave something. I believe in the legacy. If I can create that legacy, I will be satisfied.”
If Khalid is toppled (he himself would rather see it as stepping aside, an act of “choice” rather than force), what will the people of Selangor remember him for? What will be his legacy?
To answer this question, Khalid points to the mountain of cash now sitting in the Selangor cash reserve. At an astounding RM3 billion, this is at once a bane and a boon.
Detractors say the job of government is not to hoard cash but to use resources to better the lives of citizens, but the former fund manager has a different idea.
“When I came into Selangor, we talked about doing all (sorts of) things. Then we found out we simply could not do it. Why? (We) didn't have the money. Yeah! Why?” he said, his voice indicating his disbelief in finding that the nation's second richest state was rather broke at one time.
He said one of the things he was very keen to do was to clean up the Klang River, but there was no way to do it without going hat in hand to the federal government.
“You go to the federal government, but will the federal government lend you money since you're from a different party?
“If you can't borrow from the federal government or (be given) a grant, then you have to borrow from outside. What does the provision of the enactment say? You must get approval from the Treasury.”
“So you talk, talk, talk but you cannot do. So what did I do? I built up the reserves. I built it up and people were surprised that you can build the reserves to the amount that you can start doing.
“Now you want to build a bridge, I build it for you. But you have to continue to build up (the reserves).”
S'gor didn't know its resources
The first five years, Khalid said, were about strengthening the state's position and now, it is time to spend – but spending not on political gimmicks but on physical structures that will last.
“This is why I can now say in the state assembly that we can put aside allow RM100 million to build affordable housing. Hah! Now the people can believe us (when we promise things) because we have the money.
“Now, after this meeting, I am going straight to implement it, without the risk of the federal government not approving it. This is nothing already. It's done!”
Turning it around, he said, was a matter of going down to fundamentals – to know your resources and cut wastages.
He said that when he came into the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam, the state had no idea how much land it had, where its assets were and the costs of holding these assets.
“Of course, this is very basic, but unfortunately, people don't know the basics. But I work hard on it. I will force people to check and check and verify to make sure (of the assets).”
There is little publicly-available official data to back this urban legend, but it is something the people of Selangor are familiar with.
For decades now, those in political circles have been pointing to parcels of land – in Ampang, in Shah Alam and in other parts of thriving Selangor – while muttering under their breaths: “So and so got that for RM2. He was close to the MB at the time.”
Khalid is adamant that this will not be what people remember him by, “and I don't have many friends for it”.
Likewise, he said, he would not back down on “changing the culture” of doing business with the state, even if it brings political ramifications.
Most recently, this ex-corporate man got on the bad side of the Selangor business community on the issue of licencing fees. Business owners were up in arms over what they said was a fee hike that could put them under.
Not a stereotype politician
“No, please!” he shoots back. He explains that what the state did was to put a halt on the temporary occupation licence (TOL), with which businesses operate on inappropriate land for a nominal fee.
“You are making the culture of people too dependent on government. If you are doing business in Singapore or Hong Kong, you are willing to pay the appropriate fee. But when it is in Malaysia, you don't want to pay.
“I told them that it they want to get government land, they can’t get it on the cheap. The land belongs to the people of Selangor. You have to buy it based on the gross development value. Not on the cheap.
“If business, it has to be market-related. If it's welfare, then we talk about welfare,” Khalid said.
When he talks about his policy decisions, Khalid reveals a side of him that his detractors loathe. He is uncompromising and single-minded in what he believes is right and the devil may care.
His almost disregard for popular sentiments and politicking indicates that he is unlikely to throw his hat into the ring in the PKR party elections in April.
Having assessed that he still has 50-50 chance of keeping his job, staving off further attacks means he cannot continue being a party recluse and should have a strong presence in the structure.
However, if he had his way, he would rather it be an appointed post – such as treasurer (a post he once held), or secretary-general, and not something he needs to contest for because this is not something he has a taste for.
Some of his advisers feel differently, he said, but he is more keen on ensuring that his eventual retirement is sustainable, both for the state and for the party.
“We can't (always) have a stereotype politician who just does (it) because he wants to be part of it... You shouldn't be distracted by that (popular sentiments).”
Interview conducted by Steven Gan, Fathi Aris Omar, Radzi Razak and Aidila Razak.
THE KHALID IBRAHIM INTERVIEW
Part 1: Abdul Khalid: If I resign, it'll be my choice
Part 2: MB: There may be a royal twist to the Selangor saga
