SANDAKAN – Despite tighter restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19, the Raya spirit of the people here does not seem to be hampered as crowds throng the town for Aidilfitri shopping.
Since 8am, heavy traffic heading towards Sandakan town turned into a long queue at the entrance of Harbour Mall – the only shopping mall here – with the masses congregating at clothing shops and supermarkets. Photos of the jam as well as other photos showing the crowds have been shared on Facebook since this morning.
Meanwhile, a similar situation was seen in Kota Kinabalu’s Imago shopping mall, where people lined up at the parking lot as early as 10am, as shared on Facebook on the Info Lalu Lintas Sabah page and others.
Local Aliza Alawi – who did not anticipate such hustle and bustle in town – was shocked to see such a crowd but was determined to endure it because she had to buy clothes for her family as well as meat for her Raya dishes.
“I knew there would be a lot of people today, but I did not expect this many,” the 28-year-old told The Vibes. “I had to queue outside Harbour Mall for about an hour before I could enter.
“I went to the central market to buy meat, and even then, I felt like I had to ‘fight’ to buy the meat, as it was almost sold out. The meat will be used to cook sup daging (beef soup) for Raya; I knew I had to buy it early while it was still available – thank goodness I managed to get it!”
Aliza said she will be staying at home with her family for Raya this year because of the standard operating procedures (SOPs). “I know that I will not be able to flaunt my new baju Raya like in previous years, but I still want to get new clothes in the spirit of Aidilfitri.
“We also wanted to save money this year, so I just bought ready-made clothes, which is much cheaper than having tailored.
“Plus, I also want to get a Raya photo where my family can show off their new clothes to celebrate Aidilfitri 2021! It’s always nice to have a good photo with Raya clothes for social media,” she said.
Aliza was worried of being trapped in one location with too many people because she wanted to avoid the virus, so she tried her best to keep a safe distance from others, going so far as to even wearing two face masks.
“I am happy, actually, to see that other people are doing the same as me; they are keeping a safe distance from one another. I think everyone is aware of the SOPs they must follow to avoid the risk of getting the virus. Like me, they just want to shop for Raya and return home safely,” she added. –The Vibes, May 9, 2021
