INTERVIEW Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has come a long way from his first few months as the stuttering and bumbling head of state.

Who could forget his gaffes as a novice politician, where at one point, he had said “ Undilah BN ” during the campaign for the Ijok by-election in 2007 where he stood as the PKR candidate.

NONE Or his occasional stammer which had very quickly provided ceramah fodder for his political enemies on the local Umno ceramah circuit.

But walking into the sitting room adjacent to his lofty office perched on the 21st floor of the state secretariat building for an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini recently, Khalid was confident, speaking in fluent English for more than an hour.

Life is definitely completely different now for the former corporate giant whose dawn raid at the London Stock Exchange as the then-CEO of the government’s investment vehicle Permodalan Nasional Berhad to take over Britain’s Guthrie Corporation, has made it into business textbooks as a case study.

Like most ordinary persons Khalid admitted his weaknesses, but with self-assurance said that he takes the criticisms targeted at him with a pinch of salt.

“When it comes to the criticism, some I accept, some I ignore. But I am now less sensitive than during my CEO days, all because I have to adapt fast,” he said.

And there were quite a fair bit of salvos launched at him, with many from his own colleagues in PKR saying that he was more of a manager than a politician.

Maybe he is and it may not be such a bad thing, having been one of the top managers in this country for more than 20 years. During the conversation with Malaysiakini , he was liberal with the usage of the term ‘a good manager should do this’ or ‘a good manager would do that’.

‘Ijok was a nightmare’

But away from his day-to-day responsibilities of managing Selangor, the country’s richest state - and for the longest time, the jewel in BN’s crown - Khalid still recounts his ‘culture shock’ at entering the gritty world of politics during the Ijok by-election in 2007.

NONE “The by-election in Ijok was an eye-opener. It was a nightmare. I just could not imagine politics like that. When I was walking into the nomination centre, we came across this big group of BN supporters.

“There was a big confusion and I had to be smuggled in there through another way,” he said with a laugh.

Resting slightly easier now, Khalid can catch his breath before diving back to work, especially with the rumours of snap polls looming just around the corner.

Having been an MB for exactly three years this coming Sunday, he said that it’s the small things that makes it all worth it.

NONE “From time to time, perfect strangers will just come up to me and shake hands with me, telling me that I’ve done a good job,” said Khalid, whose free water policy has been a hit with the public (amidst opposition claims that they are just mere populist measures).

Still, it is undeniable that Khalid has been working round-the-clock for the state, with some even complain that he micro-manages.

In fact, his political opponents in the Bandar Tun Razak constituency where he is an MP as well, have claimed that the MB hardly goes back to the area, having too much of other responsibilities in his hands.

Bane of Bandar Tun Razak

“Some say that I work like the (24-hour convenience store chain) 7-Eleven. But if I’m just an ordinary MP or assemblyperson, I will have a hard time getting my constituency to recognise me,” he said in jest.

Insisting that he has top-notch team of representatives taking care of the constituency, he defended himself, saying that he does go to Bandar Tun Razak weekly.

“Even the prime minister does not necessarily go back to his constituency in Pekan every weekend,” he said.

Related stories

‘I was annoyed about Khusrin’s appointment’

S’gor MB wants end to ‘major irritation’