KUALA LUMPUR: The three-day Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)'s 15th National Congress opened its conference today fully online, following the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0 implemented by the government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the first such conference to be held since the establishment of the party, which is now 22 years old.

The 15th annual congress began with the Women's Congress today, with a speech by PKR Advisory Council chairman Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and was followed by the policy speech of the Women's chief Fuziah Salleh.

It is then followed by the Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) Congress, tomorrow (June 5), and a policy speech by its chief Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.

Both the women's and youth congresses will also hold the election of 50 delegates from each wing to the national congress.

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the MP for Port Dickson, is expected to deliver a policy speech on Sunday (June 6), the last day of the annual congress.

Anwar, in a posting on his official Facebook account yesterday in conjunction with the congress, described this conference as unique, as it took place entirely online.

"I pray to Allah to make it easy for us to hold the congress in a good and safe situation, and (get) a commendable participation," he said.

The congress, which will be attended by 2,400 PKR delegates and leaders through the Zoom application from their respective homes, was previously scheduled to take place in Shah Alam, Selangor in a hybrid manner, combining physical and virtual presence.

However, due to the implementation of a total lockdown for 14 days starting June 1, the congress format had to be changed to be fully online.

-- BERNAMA