PETALING JAYA, April 2 – Elizabeth Wong knew she was taking a big step when she decided to put her money where her mouth is and stand for political office.

What the social activist didn't know was how big.

She had a taste of it during the exhausting 13-day election campaign. She spent the days knocking on doors round Bukit Lanjan and the nights speaking out at open-air ceramahs.

Then came the astonishing victory on March 8 which propelled the PKR-DAP-Pas coalition straight into the Selangor government.

She was giddy with delight. But there was more to come.

Last week, she was sworn in to the state executive council and charged with the Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment portfolio.

It was beyond her wildest dreams.

She was a virgin politician after all. It was like putting on boots and finding herself 7 leagues away with her first step. But she's had little time to savour.

No time to unpack her bags when she stayed at her sister's home to be closer to her constituency during the election campaign – Elizabeth herself lives in Bukit Gasing.

No time to type long, detailed updates on her blog (elizabethwong.wordpress.com) as she was wont to before the big appointment.

No time to holiday in Laos with her boyfriend as she was supposed to – she had made the reservations not knowing she would be elected to office.

No time to fix her broken Nokia handphone, which collapsed under the overwhelming number of calls during the campaigning period. Luckily she still has her Motorola.

No time even to decorate her "official" office on Level 1 of the labyrinthine Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah building in Section 5 of Shah Alam, tucked away obscurely behind the Road Works Department.

When she first stepped into her office last Wednesday, it was bare "as Mother Hubbard's cupboard". There was the desk, a couple of chairs and the sofa set; nothing else.

Today, there's a fixed-line phone and a rather battered iBook on her table and a hat-and-coat stand which appeared rather mysteriously in a corner of her room in the morning.

"I've not had a free day since deciding to run for the elections," laughs Elizabeth tiredly. "My schedule is very tight, I can't keep track anymore. Yee Ling (her cheery personal assistant) just tells me what's next.

"This morning, I had a meeting with the MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council). After this, I'm going to Bandar Utama to see the piece of land in BU4 where the residents have been fighting to get as their green lung," she rattles off.

"They've been fighting for it for 12 years. Later in the evening, I'm going to have drinks with a developer who's concerned about the environment implications of a neighbouring piece of land."

And in between, she's been closeted in interviews with several other media, apart from The Malaysian Insider, says Yee Ling.

In the few weeks since winning the state seat on a PKR ticket, she's been sucked into a whirlwind of meetings that keep her up from dawn till midnight on a daily basis.

It includes, among others, servicing her constituents in Bukit Lanjan, meeting local councils on reform matters, consultations with environmental groups, residents' associations and lawyers in preparation for the state assembly to be held mid this month.

Since her appointment to the state Exco, the activities have stepped up. At the very top of her priorities are the preservation of the environment and promotion of state heritage sites to draw the tourist ringgit into the state coffers.

"Selangor has a lot to offer. Batu Caves, that's in Selangor, Templer's Park just to name some. And did you know there's a royal museum in Klang?" Elizabeth asks pointedly, at which I shake my head.

"See! Nobody knows about it. Everybody always goes to KL.

"The first point of entry into the country is in Selangor, courtesy of the KLIA. Many tourists who make a stopover can walk around but they choose to stay in the airport.

"Why? Look at Singapore. They make it easy for transit travelers to visit their country – so long as they have their boarding pass they can get around no problem."

It's been hell on her skinny frame, despite her protestations to the contrary. Her blood pressure is normal and her cholesterol level is low, she says; in fact, her doctor has even advised her to eat more junk food!

But her face looks more haggard today compared to during the campaign. She goes to bed at midnight daily and wakes up before her alarm clock has a chance to annoy her with its shrill cry at 7.

It's a far cry from her days in the non-governmental organisations when she kept 10-to-6 hours and had weekends off where she could indulge herself in her favourite hobby: bird-watching.

"Thus far, it's been okay. I live on adrenaline," grins the former national swimmer who loves to tango with danger.

During her university days, she involved herself with several extreme environmentalist groups. Once she even paddled in the sea against the current to protest against a shipment of unecologically harvested lumber from entering Australia.

Those hippie activities have stopped. But her opponents today are bigger, stronger and more insidious than a ship or rough waters. And that is why she decided it was time to take a leap of faith and go into politics.

"More action, less talk," quips Elizabeth, before Kamal, one of her 3 assistants steps in to signal the end of our interview session and usher her out and on to the next appointment.