25 Facts About Khalid Ibrahim

Abdul Khalid bin Ibrahim was a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Menteri Besar of Selangor from 2008 to 2014.

Khalid Ibrahim was the Member of the Selangor State Assembly for Ijok from 2008 to 2013, and MLA for Pelabuhan Klang from 2013 to 2018.

Khalid Ibrahim was sacked from the party for his refusal to vacate his Selangor Menteri Besar post, in a political manoeuvre that was widely criticised by the public and invoked a rare rebuke from the Sultan of Selangor.

Abdul Khalid bin Ibrahim was born on 14 December 1946 in the village of Kampung Jalan Raja Abdullah in Kuala Selangor, Selangor.

Khalid Ibrahim was educated at the Jeram Malay School in 1956, attended the Special Malay Class, and then studied at the Kampung Kuantan English School.

Khalid Ibrahim obtained a Bachelor of Economics with honours from the University of Malaya and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Queensland in 1975.

Khalid Ibrahim began his career as a university lecturer before transitioning into the corporate sector.

The raid was later described as "the most dramatic Malaysian acquisition of a foreign company during the restructuring of the country's post-colonial economy," with Khalid Ibrahim playing a central role in its execution.

In 2006, Khalid joined the opposition PKR, founded by the former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, and became the party's treasurer-general.

Khalid Ibrahim won both seats, while the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition made unprecedented gains and took a majority in the Selangor State Assembly.

Khalid Ibrahim was appointed the Menteri Besar of Selangor and was sworn in on 13 March 2008.

Khalid Ibrahim was the first person not of the BN coalition to hold the post.

For example, in 2009 Khalid Ibrahim rejected a move by PAS to draft legislation banning the sale of alcohol in Muslim-majority neighbourhoods.

Khalid Ibrahim sacked the PKR and DAP members of Selangor's Cabinet-like Executive Council, and continued to administer the state as an independent assemblyman with the remaining four councillors from PAS.

Khalid Ibrahim ultimately resigned on 26 August 2014, as it was clear that he could no longer command the confidence of the State Assembly.

Khalid Ibrahim remained in office while Sultan Sharafuddin deliberated on whom to appoint his replacement, before settling on PKR's deputy president Azmin Ali, who was sworn in on 23 September 2014.

Khalid Ibrahim died of a heart valve infection on 31 July 2022 at 11.08pm at Cardiac Vascular Sentral Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, at age 76.

At the personal request of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Khalid Ibrahim was laid to rest at the Shah Alam Royal Mausoleum; burials at the mausoleum are usually reserved for members of the Selangor Royal Family and the nobility.

Khalid Ibrahim was the first Menteri Besar of Selangor since independence who was not from the then-dominant Barisan Nasional coalition.

Khalid Ibrahim valued efficiency and hard work, was frugal with state expenditures, and preoccupied with clean governance.

Khalid Ibrahim had a propensity for understanding the workings of large organisations, the failings of governments and corporations, and providing solutions thereto.

Firmly believing that state monies should go back to the people of Selangor, Khalid Ibrahim initiated the Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor program, a slogan that was much imitated in the following years.

Khalid Ibrahim introduced the programme for Selangor households to receive 20 cubic metres of free water every year, a policy that is still in place as at 2022.

Khalid Ibrahim abolished direct negotiations for state projects, and instructed that tenders be awarded based on the collective decision of the executive council and relevant state government officers, without seeking the Menteri Besar's endorsement.

Nevertheless, upon his enforced dismissal, Khalid Ibrahim sat out the rest of his terms as an MP and Member of the Legislative Assembly, whereupon he retired quietly from politics, serving as a consultant to several corporations and state governments.