Goodbye Khalid, it’s been quite a ride

Probably in a week’s time, the curtain will fall on Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s reign as Selangor Menteri Besar.

When he announced on Tuesday that he would resign as MB, there was plenty of rush from everyone in the room where the press conference took place, but when that had died down, there were a sense of mixed feelings when the reality sank in that Abdul Khalid will soon no longer be the MB.

Being the MB of the richest state in Malaysia comes with plenty of scrutiny and attention, but there is no doubting that Abdul Khalid had stood out as a MB. Even his final major decision as the MB- which is to relinquish his post- contained surprises of its own.

For weeks before the announcement, everybody following the crisis were quite sure that Abdul Khalid, at the very least, would request for a state assembly dissolution, and pave the way for a state election.

For weeks, he looked and behaved every bit like a man who was above the noise around him, and would continue holding on to the post as long as he could. And when it was clear he did not have  majority support, dissolution of the assembly was mooted.

But surprisingly he relinquished his post, stating that he did not consider any other option, even an emergency sitting of the state assembly- quoting PKR’s desire not to have him as MB anymore. PKR had not wanted him as MB for almost a month now, and it seemed the realisation only dawned late for Abdul Khalid.

But that was him in his truest form, it is difficult to pick out what is in his brains, or predict his next move. For example, for a man who seemed to subtly admonish party politics, he had gone ahead and contested the PKR elections for the deputy president’s post.

Eyebrows raising decision on Azmin

For a man who consistently remained civil about his rivalry with Azmin Ali, the state government’s controversial decision to remove him from the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) board in controversial circumstances raised eyebrows. The blame, of course, fell on two civil servants, who went on to lose their own posts.

Khalid was a straight arrow when it came to administration - he had his ideas and played his cards very close to his chest.

You would have never seen him agitated, nervous, angry, or flailing his arms. There was always that smile, acknowledgment, and walking away when he had nothing to say.

He was calmness personified, even when his oratory skills let him down when it came to communicating with the crowd. Journalists, even I, loved him for large periods because he was probably the most media friendly and approachable MB we had ever encountered.

He always answered questions, and sometimes, even developed a sense of humour that could send the room into a frenzy. He was, in a way, a media darling, no matter how uptight he appeared to be.

So taking cognisance of his six-year tenure is crucial. Abdul Khalid had often spoke about leaving behind a legacy, and I would agree that he had left behind a legacy- but this legacy is not something that is all good or all bad.

Any argument on Abdul Khalid must always be played out in grey areas, not in black and white shades. At the moment, he is the subject of adoration from Pakatan’s political enemies and criticism from their political supporters.
                                      
But when the dust settles, and the emotions are over, there will be ramifications from his tenure. His moves of freeing and restructuring the water industry and his policies had actively set a bar for pro-rakyat policies in the state.

Overnight garbage disposal miracle

I remember a friend, a normal Selangor citizen, relating to me how she had tweeted a picture to Abdul Khalid once, pointing out at the amount of rubbish and industrial waste floating on the Klang River along Shah Alam.

He immediately tagged in the exco in charge, Elizabeth Wong, and the next day the huge pile was no longer floating there.

Some of the deals penned with the federal government had its share of controversies, post-2013, but his policies before the 13th general elections had clearly been a step in the right direction for any state administrator.

There is clearly a base here that he is leaving behind- a state in a good financial state, and a slew of programs that can help different segments of people.

But PKR, and Pakatan Rakyat, need to move on from financial progress and programs. They needed visible results.

And this was where Abdul Khalid failed. While busy administering the state in terms of financial performance and ensuring functional bureaucracy, Abdul Khalid was out of his depth when it came to taking the next step-  which is to become more pro-active, working with his party, and to use the state reserves to achieve this result.

This next move required him to become an astute politician that needed to balance administration and political visibility. And he failed. Holding on to the state purse strings tightly was no longer a prudent thing to do, it was instead being seen as “stingy”.

My way or the highway man

His refusal to step down immediately, which prolonged the MB strife into a prolonged state of crisis for almost an entire month, had lost him plenty of admiration and respect among Pakatan supporters.

But what he did in the past month should not necessarily negate the groundwork he had built for several years.  Abdul Khalid is a man who liked doing things his way, and that was how he administered, managed, played politics, and even resigned.

He waited, played the game, and resigned at his own discretion, in his own time. Who gained satisfaction from this delay in resigning is anybody’s guess. There is no doubting Abdul Khalid had lost plenty of friends and fans in that process.

But he would probably tell you he was not in a popularity contest. The best judge of his legacy is probably his own self.

He is clearly here for self satisfaction, and despite of the crisis, he might look back at his six-year tenure and say to himself that he is satisfied enough.

At the back of the crisis, it was probably fitting that Abdul Khalid had opted to leave as his position was no longer untenable.

His relationship with his party had deteriorated since the turn of the year and political realities in Malaysia means that a man needs to be in tandem with the philosophy of the party that put him there.
  
When people wanted a more hands-on approach on religious controversies, he took the middle path. He bid his time. Again, it appeared like he knew what he was doing. But he himself knowing what he was up to was no longer enough.

What politics’ all about

Pakatan Rakyat was elected by the people, as a representation of people’s movement. They are answerable to people, as is every politician. Abdul Khalid may be a MB, but it is the politician inside him that enabled him to become the MB.

And when the demands for answers mounted, Abdul Khalid was nowhere to be seen.

Next week, he will leave via the front door of the state secretariat building with his share of praises and criticisms. It wasn’t a perfect administration. But it was quite a ride.

Abdul Khalid was like a box of chocolates. You never knew what you were going to get. We need to thank him for the good parts, and remember his actions for the less appealing parts. But, always, remember the story. Someday, the lessons from this saga could be learned and re-learned.

For now, we take the good with the bad, and the bad with the good.