It appears Dr Mahathir is once again the flavour of the month. Watching the media asking him for advice on issues that he could not solve for the 22 years he was in power is indeed amusing.

But really how low can you go? There are now some online portals and blogs that seem to compete with each other in spinning everything and anything that has to do with Dr Mahathir.

Seemingly innocent celebrations of Hari Raya provide the writers with an opportunity to curry favour. Some have gone so far as to say that Dr Mahathir is now all powerful because he attracts thousands to his open house. Of course, to lend credence, they have to compare the crowds that attend open houses between one individual and another, this minister and that.

They would have you believe that Malaysians attending open houses, something they have been doing for ages, are barometers of support. Amusing because they forget that Mahathir had one of the biggest open house gatherings in 1998 before losing big in the following year's election. The BN has always had huge open houses even in the year they lost badly in 2008.

People attend these open houses as they are an opportunity to sample the best of Malaysian fare, and they attend as part of a culture that has become Malaysian.

To say that these are evidence of support for a slogan or a particular leader are just simply attempts of stretching the spin. Worse when they attempt to produce half-truths.

I was happy to attend Pak Lah's open House in Putrajaya, although I had difficulty finding a seat as the hall was full, and the queue was long. I would not dare say that this was evidence of the people's love for him. I will leave spin like that to those who are sucking up to Mahathir.

But to say that Pak Lah's was not well attended is plain mischievous.