KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Affable and avuncular as he is, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim tends to take every challenge by the horns. In an interview with The Straits Times in Singapore recently, he shared his thoughts on:
Being Malay
“I'm proud to be a Malay, yet not proud just to be a Malay who makes use of my 'Malayness'.”
Being a Malay politician
“That doesn't mean I cannot help the whole of Malaysia. If I help (everyone), invariably the Malays will be helped anyway.”
Being an ex-Umno man
“I didn't get rewards from Umno. I got rewards for the work I had done.”
What he is doing today
“I'm trying to translate what I as a taxpayer would love a good and effective government to do — to have that done.”
Civil servants
“If they're in charge of water, they must not get into sand. Multitasking is not in their vocabulary.”
Globalisation and Malay rights
“My second daughter, who's in Australia, cannot say she should get preference. The Australians will just tell her to go wherever she thinks she can jump into.”
PAS-Umno unity talks
“Intelligent PAS people understand it's too late to reform Umno. It's best that they reform themselves.”
How loosely held the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition is
“Even though we are in the same team, somebody may be playing rugby as opposed to football.”
How PR is faring
“We haven't reached total success, but at least we have total understanding — or understanding the misunderstandings.” — Straits Times
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