'Sand mining is so lucrative - with KSSB around, illegal sand miners still control a lion share of it. Just imagine how it was before Pakatan took over Selangor.'

Habib RAK: I attended the Selcat hearings yesterday and the day before. As an independent observer, I am very pleased with the development. The seven-member panel headed by YB Teng Chang Khim were professional and posted very pertinent and pointed questions.

Specific mention must be made about the two Umno Aduns (state representatives) who participated actively as panel members in the orderly questioning. This Selcat hearing will go a long way to help KSSB (Kuala Sementa Sdn Bhd), the relevant state agencies and industry players to improve and be a model for others.

All kinds weaknesses, abuses, incompetencies, outright stealing, indifferent attitudes, etc, were exposed. There was nothing too sacred to be avoided. The matter is being striped naked.

As much as I was shocked at the revelations about inappropriate bonus, gaps in processes, mismatch in competency of people hired, etc, I am very comforted that this Selcat hearing has become the springboard to correct all the flaws.

The hearing continues today and I once again register my admiration to MP Manikavasagam for being instrumental in making it happened.

Wira: YB Mike (Manikavasagam). You can skip Parliament (don't tell me you have 100 percent attendance thus far?) and testify in Selcat. Just inform the House speaker that you will not be in Parliament because you have a more important thing to answer to the rakyat of Selangor.

Giving out fat bonuses is a management prerogative for reasons best known to them. I've seen public-listed companies in this country rewarding their directors with fees and bonuses exceeding the profit of the company.

It may not be a fair nor prudent practice, but it is not corruption. I hope YB Mike's testimony will shed light to corruption within KSSB.

Satya: Mike has done a great service exposing KSSB for what it is. If he didn't go to the media, can you imagine what the outcome would be?

Transparency is of paramount importance even if it is the Pakatan Rakyat government. Otherwise, we the taxpayers won't get our money's worth. So keep being vigilant of our representatives no matter which party they belong to.

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: Attending the Selcat inquiry and divulging the contents of a complaint are entirely two separate matters altogether.

Granted that Manikavasagam is permitted to attend the inquiry since obviously there is no law to prohibit him from doing so but if the necessity arises, is he or is he not permitted to answer the questions posed by the Selcat committee to him regarding the sand theft allegation?

Whilst there is a law prohibiting such an act i.e. divulgence, Manikavasagam must at the same time cooperate with the inquiry into his allegation.

So which is it now? Does MACC expect him to attend the inquiry but to keep silent on every question posed to him regarding the sand theft allegation? What kind of an inquiry is this supposed to be then? A circus?

Concern_Father: I am very excited with the way how PKR handle corruption cases. I do understand that in any political party, corruption will be there. You cannot have zero corruption. But it should be within safe limit and a system to check-and-balance is needed so that issues like PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) do not happened.

I wonder why BN does not follow the same. This case is a 2008/2009 issue, and we are probing it in 2010. This is very good. Not like the BN, where cases can either disappear or never see justice, like Perimekar's making 114 million euros (RM534.8 million) from submarines that cannot sink.

Anonymous: Sand mining is so lucrative as it seems here. With KSSB around, illegal sand miners still control a lion share of it. Just imagine how it was before Pakatan took over Selangor. We can see who are behind these illegal sand miners.

No wonder we see people making noises on KSSB. No wonder we see BN going all out to take over Selangor like what it did to Perak. Good show, Selcat, the picture is getting clearer.

Swipenter: It is an open secret that illegal sand mining has been going on for donkey years without any harassment because the police and the Land and Mines Department close one eye with an extended palm to such profitable activities.

Like our PM said "you help me I help you", so where is the problem of illegal sand mining activities? Perhaps when KSSB was formed, illegal sand miners activities were threatened and therefore this business could be ‘hazardous' to the staff of KSSB. Whether the staff are entitled to the fat bonuses, we shall see at the end of the enquiry.

The charges of corruption should be first leveled at those conniving civil servants for ‘closing one eye' to the illegal sand mining activities and secondly, investigate the activities of KSSB and its staff to see if there was any hanky-panky business going on there.

Don't forget KJ in Round 3, PM urged

Confused: Not that I am a supporter of Khairy Jamaluddin but I must say that as Umno Youth chief, he should be given a deputy minister post.

This clearly shows that even if you are the choice of the people or party members, so long as you are not in the good books of the leader, you will be suppressed. This is the typical BN's policy of cronyism and favouritism. Tell me, who dares to whistle blow if there is any wrongdoing involving party leaders.

Boon Hor Loy: I too agree that Khairy should be given a cabinet post based on his calibre. It's unfair to deny him a chance to be a minister. I believe with his intellectual capabilities and exposure, he can perform better than some of those who are in the cabinet. As the saying goes, it's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks!

SMC77: Khairy should know his days as the Youth chief of Umno/BN are numbered. He may be able to pull another surprise to defend his position in the next party elections but that would mean he would need millions of dollars to fund the campaign.

He should know without a ministerial position and the trust from Najib, he has little leverage to garner the required financial resources he needed. Khairy should not worry too much about such thing if he left and joined Pakatan before the political tsunami in March 2008.

It may be too late for Khairy to switch camps now given the experience that PKR had with the rejects from Umno over the past two years. Khairy may still able to make a comeback in politics if he goes on a self-imposed exile in a foreign country to clear his sins before coming back to politics.

CK Chang: No Pak Lah, no ministerial post. Mahathir around, no ministerial post. Full stop.

Maslina: Well done KJ. You'll get there in the end. The most astonishing thing is that you're just 34. So much more ahead.