PKR CONGRESS Despite not being listed as the candidate for Selangor menteri besar, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali has outlined his vision on how the state should be administered.

While admitting that he abides by the party decision that its president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be the next menteri besar, Azmin said Selangor as one of the most developed states in the country should have strategic planning to build its own identity.

“Problems faced by the people, such as increasing their revenue, abolishing poverty and reducing the income gap between the rich and the poor, should be done.

“Efforts to improve the capability of the people to increase production, creativity, intellect and productivity should also be enhanced.

“Selangor should be the catalyst for the development of corridors of other Pakatan-held states. This strength should be enhanced to be a new impetus in our drive to Putrajaya,” he said.

Azmin, who is also the state PKR chief, added that he believes the state-owned Universiti Selangor (Unisel) has the potential to become the world’s best university, and Selangor has the resources to implement policies to make it so.

He said this in his speech when opening the PKR Youth congress today.

"God willing, the new Selangor administration will realise these visions and we in PKR have already proposed Wan Azizah to be nominated as the Selangor menteri besar," he said.

'Assault on democratic institutions'

On another matter, the Gombak MP also criticised the Sodomy II charges against PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as an "assault on (Malaysia’s) democratic institutions" and claimed that the sedition charges against Anwar’s lawyer N Surendran is meant to deprive him of legal representation.

"The prosecution against Anwar is an assault against democratic institutions because it is not targeted at Anwar as an individual, but also as opposition leader, which is an integral part of the democratic system.

"Charging Surendran under the Sedition Act 1948 is in fact Umno’s move to prevent him from acting as a lawyer defending Anwar," he told the audience of 265 youth delegates.

Azmin also urged the youth wing to strengthen the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, and not allow any provocation to upset the cooperation between its member parties.

Instead, he said the youth wing should emulate the Three Kingdoms-period Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang, who advocated for the revival of the Han Dynastry through an alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Qian to defeat Cao Cao.

"Taking a leaf from Zhuge Liang's strategy, PKR can only defeat BN and set up a people’s government through cooperation with PAS and DAP.

"Whatever it takes, Pakatan Rakyat needs to be defended. We cannot let anyone provoke and try to threaten Pakatan Rakyat's unity," he said.