Some people say that the new Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali will have a difficult task to administer the richest state in the the country.

The way I see it the only difficult thing for Azmin is to resist all the temptations that will come knocking at his office’s door. Soon he will be meeting all kinds of people who will stop at nothing the moment they could smell that Azmin is also a human being who also has all the needs and can be ‘won’ over.

Khalid Ibrahim is said to have amassed a RM3 billion reserve as a result of his frugal spending.

Perhaps Azmin could destroy this myth by way of a forensic probe into how this reserve came about. As I understand it a lot of this huge reserve came from the sale of state land to property developers.

If that is so, what is so brilliant about Khalid. Anybody could do it because the price of freehold land in Selangor is the highest in the country, and is rising all the time.

Being the richest state, Selangor’s land tax has brought a lot of money into the state’s coffers.

Azmin should start spending this reserve immediately while keeping some for the unforeseen circumstances like floods and other natural disasters.

I say it is quite easy to administer Selangor because in terms of land area, the state has already surrendered a huge chunk of it to the federal government - Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

While Selangor is opposition-ruled and surplus-having state, I doubt that it is getting any per capita subsidy from the federal government.

At this point perhaps Azmin should examine the possibility of demanding that Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya should pay an annual reimbursement to the state for the loss of lands in these two areas.

As for the water supply in Selangor, we all know that part of the problem is the non-revenue water or NRW whereby due to old pipes and theft a lot of treated water was lost.

Azmin should embark on a no-nonsense approach to tackle this problem by demanding the quick replacement of all old pipes and and a campaign to catch all the water thieves. If enforcement officers are not enough, water vigilantes could be appointed.

And to ensure that Selangor is guaranteed clean water supply, Azmin should think about the setting up of desalination plants. This technology used to be expensive but not any more.

Azmin could also emulate Hong Kong where sea water is used for toilet flushing.

As for the Kidex Epressway, Azmin should hold a referendum. In Seoul, South Korea, highways are being torn down to restore the old river that runs through the city. Environment and people’s welfare should come first.

Azmin should be brave enough to stand up to this stupid progress based on cars.

Finally, Azmin could end up as a great MB if he could solve the Kampung Baru problem, once and for all. It is a disgrace that non one seems interested to tackle this issue.

If millions could be spent on Brickfields and Petaling Street, it is a shame that Kampung Baru has been neglected for so long.