RAYA WITH THE TUN

First time. Two decades as a journalist and I had never gone to a Hari Raya open house hosted by Dr M when he was the PM. Today he's no longer PM, he's under siege, and I braved the rain to go to his residence at the Mines Resort City. A young NST journalist said she was surprised to see that Dr M lived in a "small and cute" house. Me, I was surprised to see so many off-duty journalists from the mainstream media, like her, at the do. A journalist with a foreign newspaper, who was not off-duty, made the same observation and was somehow concerned. "There wasn't a single off-duty journalist at Pak Lah's open house!" The Singapore operatives at NST aren't going to be pleased because so many of these journalists were from their stable. Two of Pak Lah's Cabinet ministers came. "Why shouldn't I be here? We don't owe our living to anyone." Brave words, indeed; expect them to be sidelined in the next Cabinet reshuffle. Many people asked if Zam was coming. There were party veterans, tycoons, celebrities, bloggers, diplomats. And, yes, ordinary people. Thousands of ordinary folk. When I got there around 12.30pm, some 3,000 people from all walks of life had come and gone (the open house was 11am to 4pm). Najib the DPM was in Pekan but I exchanged wishes with one of his brothers. His dear mom, the wife of the late PM no 2, was there, too. One seasoned politician went up to Dr M, who had been on his feet since 11am shaking hands with visitors, and expressed his delight that, despite no publicity, thousands were turning up to show their support for the former PM. "This augurs well for the future of this country," the seasoned politician declared in his impeccable English. Nobody expected an "elegant silence" from the Tun, who gleefully responded: "Oh, I believe it's the month of October!"