The seat was left vacant after the death of the former chief minister last month.
Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said Jamilah will be officially named as the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu’s (PBB) candidate on Feb 4, the nomination day. The by-election will be held on Feb 18.
In announcing the decision at a press conference held at the PBB headquarters here today, Abang Johari said the decision to pick Jamilah received the consent of all relevant parties.
“I met with leaders from PBB in the area and held a separate meeting with leaders from the state BN components regarding the seat in Tanjung Datu.
“Following these discussions, all the leaders agreed that the best candidate to represent BN is Jamilah Anu,” Abang Johari said, adding that he was certain that the support given to Adenan will be given to Jamilah as well.
The chief minister also praised Jamilah as someone who is very active and was even a PBB grassroots leader from the days when her husband was the Muara Tuang assemblyman.
Jamilah has agreed to contest the by-election for the Tanjung Datu seat, which the late Sarawak chief minister had won when he led the BN to victory in the state election last May.
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.
Earlier this month, speculation was rife that their son, Azizul Annuar, was the favourite to contest the seat, following Adenan’s death on Jan 11.
According to the sources, apart from Azizul, the name of Adenan’s son from his first marriage, Abdul Aziz, was also mentioned as a possible candidate.
Adenan was previously married to the sister of his predecessor, Abdul Taib Mahmud, now the Sarawak governor.
Adenan died from heart complications just eight months after leading the BN coalition to an impressive victory, winning 72 out of the 82 state seats.
Analysts had previously said besides Adenan’s own popularity, the choice of Jamilah in Tanjung Datu would also attract sympathy votes and lead to a bigger win than the 5,892-vote majority won by the late chief minister.
It will not be the first time BN has fielded an incumbent’s widow as a candidate. Last year, Mastura Mohd Yazid contested and won in Kuala Kangsar, after her husband Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad died in a helicopter crash while campaigning in the Sarawak state election.
Adenan had occupied the Tanjung Datu seat for more than nine years. He first won the seat in the ninth Sarawak state election in May 2006.
He was previously the assemblyman for the Muara Tuang constituency, a seat he had retained since 1979.
There are a total of 9,899 voters in Tanjung Datu.