> Quick view: the POPULAR Bookfair at AEON Mall Kuching Central closed on 23 August 2026 and has been taken off POPULAR's own Ongoing Promotions page. Three offers replaced it, and the best one is in the same building — a 20%-off-storewide Big Sale from 28 to 31 August at the permanent POPULAR store on the First Floor. A 73-day bookfair at Emart Tabuan Jaya runs to 1 November, and a fourth Kuching-area fair opens at Aiman Mall on 3 September.

First, the bad news: that fair is over

The POPULAR Bookfair at Ground Floor, Center Court, AEON Mall Kuching Central ran 11-23 August 2026. It is finished.

Two things confirm it rather than one. POPULAR's campaign page for the fair is still online, and still displays "11 - 23 Aug 2026" — an expired page left standing is not evidence a promotion is alive. The page that actually decides is POPULAR's Ongoing Promotions hub, which lists every live bookfair with its dates. As of 27 August 2026 the AEON Mall Kuching Central fair is no longer on that list, while twelve other bookfairs are. Delisting is the proof; the surviving page is just an old page.

What you missed: a 20% rebate on selected English and Malay books when buying two or more, selected Chinese books from RM5 nett, an RM5 voucher on RM50 nett, and four free children's activities across the two weekends.

The best replacement is in the same mall, four days later

Here is the part worth knowing. AEON Mall Kuching Central has a permanent POPULAR store — Lot F38 & F39, First Floor — separate from the Center Court roadshow that just packed up. And from 28 to 31 August 2026 that store is running POPULAR's Big Sale.

The Big Sale is 20% off storewide: books, stationery, CD-Rama, and Gadgets & IT. Compare that with the fair you missed, whose headline was 20% off *selected* English and Malay books *and only when you bought two or more*. The storewide version has no buy-two condition, no "selected titles" bin, and covers stationery and gadgets as well. For most shoppers it is a straightforwardly better offer than the roadshow it follows.

The exclusions are real and worth reading: Robin, Text and Assessment books, nett-priced items and promotion items are all out. If your list is school textbooks and workbooks, this sale does nothing for you.

Also on during those four days: a free RM10 POPULAR cash voucher with a minimum RM150 nett in a single receipt, and a purchase-with-purchase offer on RM60 nett and above — a 3M Scotch Titanium detachable kitchen scissor at RM38.00 nett (usual RM67.50) or a SonicGear SonicGo! 5 Bluetooth speaker at RM39.90 nett (usual RM59.90).

The Big Sale runs at 43 selected POPULAR/HARRIS bookstores, and POPULAR publishes the full list on the campaign artwork. The Sarawak entries are AEON Mall Kuching Central, Vivacity Megamall, Bintang Megamall in Miri, Delta Mall in Sibu and tHe Spring Bintulu. Note what is *not* there: POPULAR's Everrise BDC Complex and Matang Mall branches in Kuching are not on the participating list, so do not assume your nearest branch is in.

The fair that is running right now: Emart Tabuan Jaya

POPULAR Bookfair @ Emart Tabuan Jaya, Kuching opened on 21 August 2026 — two days before the AEON one closed — and runs all the way to 1 November 2026, 10am to 10pm daily, at Ground Floor, G20 & G21. The address is Emart Tabuan Jaya, No 1, Tabuan Tranquility Commercial Centre, Jalan Canna, 93350 Kuching.

That is a 73-day run. For context, the AEON Mall Kuching Central fair lasted 13 days. There is no rush on this one.

What the flyer actually promises:

  • Free RM5 promotion voucher with a minimum RM50 nett in a single receipt
  • Free exclusive gift (one only) with every new application or renewal of a POPULAR Card or e-Card — a pouch in assorted designs for the 3-year Privilege Card, a Pilot pen for the 1-year card
  • PWP on RM60 nett and above: a Uzspace 700ml thermal flask at RM29.90 nett, against a usual RM79.90, or a SonicGear SonicGo! 5 portable Bluetooth speaker at RM39.90 nett, against a usual RM59.90
  • The range is books, stationery, and gadgets & IT

Do the arithmetic on the two PWP items and they are not close. The flask saves RM50.00, or 62.6%. The speaker saves RM20.00, or 33.4%. The flyer's "save up to 60%" is describing the flask and the flask alone — it is worth two and a half times what the speaker is worth.

What this fair does not offer: there is no 20% book rebate and no RM5-nett Chinese book table on the Emart Tabuan Jaya flyer. Those were the AEON Mall fair's mechanics. Each POPULAR fair carries its own terms, and the flyer's own fine print says the promotion "is applicable at POPULAR Bookfair @ Emart Tabuan Jaya only" — so do not walk in expecting the offers from the fair that closed.

One convenient overlap: the fair sits inside an Emart, and Emart Sarawak runs its own separate purchase-with-purchase promotion. They are different merchants and different receipts, so the spends do not pool — but you can do both in one trip.

Coming 3 September: Aiman Mall, and the cheapest books of the lot

POPULAR Bookfair @ Aiman Mall runs 3-28 September 2026, 9.30am to 10.00pm, Ground Floor.

A small but useful correction: POPULAR's own listing titles this fair "Aiman Mall, Kuching", but the address printed on the flyer is Aiman Mall, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. Kota Samarahan is a separate town roughly 25km out of Kuching city — plan the trip accordingly rather than assuming it is in town.

This is the fair to wait for if you are buying books rather than flasks:

  • Selected English books: buy 3 for RM20 nett, against RM15.00 nett each normally
  • Selected English and Malay books: 20% rebate when buying two or more
  • Free RM5 voucher on RM50 nett, same free card gift, and the same RM60 PWP flask and speaker as Emart

The 3-for-RM20 rail is the standout number in this whole article. Three selected English books bought individually would be RM45.00; the bundle price is RM20.00. That is RM6.67 a book and a 55.6% saving — far ahead of the 20% rebate rail, which on two RM15 books would leave you paying RM12.00 each. If the titles in that bin suit you, nothing else here competes on price per book.

The same rail appeared at POPULAR's earlier Farley Mall fair in Kuching, so it is a recurring feature of the Sarawak circuit rather than a one-off.

After 31 August, the 20% needs a card

This is the timing trap. The Big Sale's open-to-everyone 20% ends on 31 August. From 28 August to 27 September, POPULAR runs a 20% storewide gift certificate for members only, part of its Super Holiday and POPClub promotions, shown either physically or through the POPULAR MY App. Alongside it, bestsellers run at up to 25% off selected titles until 16 September.

So the two windows overlap for four days and then the public one closes. After 31 August, in Kuching, 20% off means holding a card.

Membership is cheap and the break-even is exact. A POPULAR Card or e-Card costs RM12 for one year; the Privilege Card is RM25 for three years. At a 20% discount, RM12 divided by 0.20 is RM60 — spend RM60 in the member window and the one-year card has paid for itself to the ringgit. The three-year card breaks even at RM125 of spending spread across three years, which is roughly two textbook runs.

Two honest notes. POPULAR's standing member benefit is an immediate 10% storewide discount; during this campaign members get the 20% certificate instead. Whether the standing 10% stacks on top of the Big Sale's 20% is not stated on the flyer — assume it does not and ask at the counter. And sign-up or renewal during the Big Sale also comes with a free gift: a foldable laundry basket with the 3-year Privilege Card, a mini zipper case with the 1-year card.

Worked examples

You want RM187.50 of books at AEON Mall Kuching Central on 29 August. The 20% storewide takes it to RM150.00 nett, which is exactly the threshold for the free RM10 cash voucher. Counting the voucher as money you will actually spend later, that is RM187.50 of books for an effective RM140.00 — about 25.3% off.

You are in Kuching for the flask, not the books. Go to Emart Tabuan Jaya, spend RM60 nett on anything at the fair, and add the Uzspace 700ml flask for RM29.90. Total RM89.90 for RM60 of goods plus a flask that lists at RM79.90. The purchase sum must exclude the PWP item's own price, and you are limited to one unit of each per customer per receipt on the same day.

You are stocking up for a child's reading year. Wait for Aiman Mall on 3 September and buy from the selected-English bin in threes. Nine books cost RM60 rather than RM135.

A Sarawak-specific one. Among the Big Sale's Hot Deals is the Malay title *Aura Aku akan Merasukmu*, priced normally at RM37.00 in Peninsular Malaysia but RM40.00 in Sabah and Sarawak. The sale price is RM28.00 nett for everyone. For once the East Malaysian price premium works in your favour: a Kuching buyer saves RM12.00 (30%), a Peninsular buyer RM9.00 (24.3%).

Who should skip all of this

  • You specifically wanted the RM5 Chinese books. That was the AEON Mall Kuching Central rail and it is gone. Neither live Kuching fair advertises it.
  • You are buying school textbooks, assessment books or Robin titles. They are excluded from the Big Sale's 20%, and nett-priced items are excluded from the fairs' free-gift threshold too.
  • Your nearest POPULAR is Everrise BDC or Matang Mall. Those two Kuching branches are not on the Big Sale's 43-store list.
  • You want the deepest book discounts in Kuching right now. Big Bad Wolf is at Boulevard Shopping Mall from 25 August to 6 September with books from RM3 — a lower floor price than anything here.

Where POPULAR actually is in Kuching

Four permanent branches, with hours from POPULAR's own store locator:

  • AEON Mall Kuching Central — Lot F38 & F39, First Floor, No.88, Lot 3458, Block 10 KCLD, Jalan Datuk Patinggi Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, 93200 Kuching. Sun-Thu 10.00am-10.00pm; Fri, Sat and eve of public holidays 10.00am-10.30pm
  • Vivacity Megamall — Lot L2-014, Level 2, Jalan Wan Alwi, 93350 Kuching. Mon-Sun 10.00am-10.00pm
  • Everrise BDC Complex — No.21, Level 2, Lot 4271, Block 16, Taman BDC, 93350 Kuching. Sun-Thu 9.30am-9.30pm; Fri, Sat and eve of public holidays 9.30am-10.00pm
  • Matang Mall — Lot 417, 418 and 419, 3rd Floor, Taman Matang Jaya, 93050 Kuching. Mon-Sun 10.00am-10.00pm

Elsewhere in Sarawak: Bintang Megamall in Miri, Delta Mall in Sibu, and tHe Spring Bintulu.

Fine print

  • Every fair's promotion applies at that fair only — POPULAR states this explicitly on each flyer. Thresholds do not pool between the Emart and Aiman fairs even while both are running in September
  • Free items at the fairs require any purchase of RM10 and above, excluding nett-priced items, and are while stocks last
  • The Big Sale flyer notes that certain items are available at selected outlets only, so the specific Hot Deals titles may not all reach Kuching, and that prices may change without notice
  • PWP purchase sums must exclude the price of the PWP items themselves; one unit of each item per customer per single receipt, same day
  • Dates, venues, hours and prices above were read on 27 August 2026 from POPULAR's Ongoing Promotions hub, the individual campaign pages, and the campaign artwork on popular.com.my

Check POPULAR's Ongoing Promotions page before travelling — it is the list that tells you which fairs are actually live.

Related reads

*Cover image: POPULAR Bookstores Malaysia — official event artwork for the Emart Tabuan Jaya bookfair (popular.com.my)*