Adenan’s wife to stand for election in his seat?

It has happened once before in Sarawak that a wife won a seat left vacant by the death of her husband.

PETALING JAYA: Philanthropist Jamilah Anu may be in the running for the Tanjung Datu state seat left vacant by the death of Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem, her husband.

This is according to a source within the state’s administration, who said her name was proposed to the leaders of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the party led by Adenan since 2014.

“Jamilah is the leading candidate because of many reasons, one of which is that she is a familiar face to the constituents,” the source told FMT.

If that happens, Jamilah would be the second woman to contest for a seat in Sarawak left vacant by a death of a husband.

The first was Mastura Mohd Yazid who won the Kuala Kangsar by-election last year. Mastura had no previous experience in politics.

Her husband, Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan, died in a helicopter crash just days before the May 7 Sarawak election.

Jamilah is well known for her charitable and voluntary work. She was reported to have contributed greatly in the areas of education, health, and environment, among others.

The 61-year-old is also popular with the people of Sarawak who are familiar with her, having seen the affection between Jamilah and Adenan.

Meanwhile, the New Sunday Times in a report today quoted sources close to PBB as saying that the party has identified five candidates for the by-election.

Two of the possible candidates were Adenan’s son Abdul Aziz, 44, and Jamilah, whom political analyst Dr Jeniri Amir said embodied the figure of a strong individual even through trying times.

“She is a familiar face not only to the people in Tanjung Datu, but also to Sarawak folk,” he told the New Sunday Times.

Sources quoted by the daily also said the other three potential candidates were Adenan’s confidantes who have helped resolve issues affecting Tanjung Datu.

Adenan died from heart complications last Wednesday. He had led the Sarawak BN to a landslide victory in the state election, securing 71 out 82 state seats. He won Tanjung Datu seat with a majority of 5,892 votes.-FMT