Closet supporters?

Tonight, I found myself seated across the table from a former Penang state assemblyman from the Malaysian Chinese Association. More significantly, I became a witness to a reaction when news of a Pakatan Rakyat victory in the Kuala Terengganu by-election seeped in.

Two weeks ago when I accepted a dinner invitation from a friend - he always invite me to his dinner and he has been doing it for the past 10 years and so - I had never expected to be sitting at the main table. I had always tried to avoid sitting at the main table because it's so stifling. Anyway, I couldn't avoid it this year and I found myself amidst some Dato's for company. I wouldn't want to mention who they were but believe me, it's pretty uncomfortable being seated with them.

Then around 9 o'clock or thereabouts, one of the dinner guests received a text message and everyone around the former state assemblyman started getting excited. For a few seconds, there was a big guffaw from the former politician and they started laughing. Laughing boisterously, mind you, not giggling. Just as sudden as it happened, the moment passed.

Apparently, they had just learnt that the Pakatan Rakyat had beaten the Barisan Nasional in the by-election. Well, one of them commented, it would have been unthinkable if the Pakatan Rakyat candidate had lost.

Well, how would you interpret this? I, for one, would like to think that even among the ex-politicians who had lost out in last year's general election, there are some who may be closet supporters of the Pakatan Rakyat. It's just a passing impression that I got from the dinner. I may be wrong....