SANDAKAN: The normally subdued Sunday market here came alive when Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail made a surprise visit, this morning.
Marketgoers and vendors hurriedly produced their smartphones to snap pictures of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) president, who is in town to join DAP’s campaign trail for the Sandakan by-election.
Some members of the public only noticed a commotion at first. But when they were told that Dr Wan Azizah was in their midst, they rushed towards her for a chance to shake her hand.
Many were also seen streaming out of nearby coffee shops and other business premises to join the crowd.
Dr Wan Azizah was accompanied on her walkabout by DAP’s Sandakan by-election candidate Vivian Wong Shir Yee.
During her one-day visit here, Dr Wan Azizah is slated to conduct several walkabout campaigns. She will also visit Kampung Sim-Sim, where she is expected to hold a meet-and-greet session with single mothers.
The Sandakan parliamentary seat fell vacant following the March 28 death of Datuk Stephen Wong, who was also state DAP chairman and Minister of Health and People’s Wellbeing.
The seat will see a five-cornered fight between Wong’s daughter Vivian; PBS vice-president Linda Tsen; and three independent candidates – Hamzah Abdulla, Chia Siew Yung and Sulaiman Abdul Samat.
The by-election is set for May 11.