Who is the menteri besar of Selangor?

“So have you heard that the Selangor menteri besar was recently sacked from his party?” I asked.

“Of course,” replied the young man.

“So what do you think about it?”

“Well, we need to look at the pros and cons. There must have been some good things he has done as the menteri besar.”

“What are the good things?”

“The development in the state has been good. It wouldn’t be the way it is now if it weren’t for him.”

“Oh, I see. Do you happen to know who the menteri besar is?”

“Khir Toyo, of course.”

And that had to be one of the most interesting conversations I had while shooting a vox pop interview video regarding the Selangor menteri besar debacle recently.

As most people would know (and I am saying this in a very broad assumption kind of way!), the menteri besar was sacked by PKR and is currently governing the state as an independent.

Going to the streets to find out what the people think was something that my brother, Aizyl Azlee, and I wanted to do because we thought it would be interesting to hear them speak.

We did expect a little bit of a lack of detailed understanding by the people. But we definitely didn’t expect there to be people who didn’t even know who the menteri besar was.

Out of a handful of people whom we interviewed, only about one little pinky finger of them actually knew anything about the big state debacle.

A few of them admitted that they have no idea what is going on in the local political scene. That’s quite all right for us. At least they didn’t pretend to know.

What was amusing to us was the fact that more people would rather pretend to know something and just ramble on in the conversation talking nonsense.

As of today, no significant development has been made regarding the issue. The menteri besar has the backing of the Sultan of Selangor but no one else.

The state’s exco members have resigned and most of PR’s members are not in support of their state’s leader and would rather have Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah as the menteri besar.

The thing about Wan Azizah is the fact that she is just exuding potential as a puppet menteri besar if she succeeds in assuming the role.

This started way back at the Kajang by-election last March when her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wanted to have that seat (and assuming eventually to take over as menteri besar).

And we all know what happened then (here I go assuming again!). A quick court conviction on sodomy ensured that he was disqualified from contesting.

And of course there is that camp that wants Azmin Ali to take over the seat of the state’s chief executive. But that camp has recently been quiet.

One member party, PAS, didn’t know what to do at first. But now they seem to have been forced to take a stand and are requesting that two names be submitted as new candidates.

Oh well. The state government of Selangor is in quite a mess right now and nobody wants to be in their shoes. It is one of the richest states in the country, so it will always be a hot seat.

But just in case, I don’t want to end this article with yet another assumption. So I’m just going to let you all know that the menteri besar of Selangor is… Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Just in case! – August 22, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.