*Image: POPULAR Malaysia*
> Quick view: POPULAR's bookfair at Harbour Mall Sandakan runs 6 to 15 November 2026, 10am to 9pm, on the Ground Floor concourse. The two headline deals are five selected English books for RM20 nett and five selected Chinese books for RM10 nett. Spend RM60 nett and you can add a water bottle or a Micropack mouse at up to 60% off. It matters more here than in most towns, because Sandakan has no permanent POPULAR store.
Everything below comes from the fair's page on POPULAR's official website, its two flyers, and POPULAR's store locator, all read on 8 November 2026. The prices are POPULAR's; the sums are ours.
Why this fair matters in Sandakan
POPULAR's store locator lists 80 POPULAR and HARRIS bookstores in Malaysia, and four of them are in Sabah: City Mall, Imago and Suria Sabah in Kota Kinabalu, and Mile 4 Jalan Lapas in Tawau. None is in Sandakan. For most families in town, the nearest POPULAR shelf is a long road trip away, so a 10-day fair at the town's harbourfront mall is the easiest chance this year to browse the chain's stock in person.
It also means the chain's other November campaigns, which run in its shops, do not reach Sandakan at all. If you live here, the fair is the deal.
How the deals work
- Go to the Ground Floor concourse at Harbour Mall Sandakan, Harbour Square, any day from 6 to 15 November, between 10am and 9pm.
- Pick five books from the "selected" English shelves and pay RM20 nett for the set. The Chinese bundle works the same way at RM10 nett for five. Each bundle is its own offer, so you cannot mix two English and three Chinese titles into one set.
- Check the PWP. Once your bill reaches RM60 nett, you can add one 700ml water bottle and one Micropack mouse at up to 60% off. The PWP items do not count towards the RM60, and you get one of each per receipt, on the same day, while stocks last.
- Sign up or renew a POPULAR Card at the fair if you want the free gift. A 1-year card or e-Card gets a STABILO highlighter set; a 3-year Privilege Card or e-Card gets a pouch set.
Worked examples
- A Chinese-reading family stocking up: three Chinese bundles, 15 books, cost RM30. That is RM2 a book.
- A student who reads in English: two English bundles, 10 books, cost RM40. One bundle of each language costs RM30 for 10 books.
- Reaching the PWP: three English bundles come to exactly RM60 nett, which is the threshold. Two English and two Chinese bundles come to RM60 as well. Anything less and the bottle and mouse stay at full price.
- Joining the card club: the 1-year POPULAR Card costs RM12 and the 3-year Privilege Card RM25 (RM8.33 a year), according to POPULAR's card page. The gift needs a separate purchase of RM10 or more that is not nett-priced. Since both book bundles are nett, a bundles-only basket will not unlock it. Add a regular-priced item if you want the gift.
Who it suits, and who can skip it
It suits parents buying holiday reading before the year-end school break, Chinese-school families who go through storybooks quickly, and anyone who reads fiction and is happy with whatever titles turn up on the bundle tables. At RM2 to RM4 a book, a few disappointing picks hardly matter.
Skip it if you need specific titles, new releases or school textbooks. The flyer only promises "selected" books, and POPULAR does not publish the bundle list. Also skip the PWP unless you were already going to spend RM60, because the flyer gives only an "up to 60%" figure and not the actual RM price of either item.
Fine print that trips people up
- "Applicable at POPULAR Bookfair @ Harbour Mall Sandakan only." The flyer says so in its footer. The same bundle prices are not promised at the Kota Kinabalu or Tawau stores.
- Nett means nett. Bundle prices take no further card discount, and nett purchases do not count towards the sign-up gift.
- Free items are while stocks last, and the organiser can amend or cancel the promotion without notice. If you want the PWP bottle or the gift, go early in the run rather than on the last weekend.
- The member gift is one per sign-up or renewal, and the flyer says "1 only".
- POPULAR's separate members' campaign (30% off regular-priced books for Privilege Card sign-ups, extended to 15 November) is worded for POPULAR and HARRIS bookstores, and the Sandakan flyer does not mention it. Ask at the cashier before you assume it applies at the fair.
Getting there
Harbour Mall Sandakan sits in Harbour Square, Pusat Bandar Sandakan, 90000 Sandakan, on the waterfront in the town centre. The fair is on the Ground Floor concourse, so you will pass it on the way in. Weekday evenings are usually quieter; the two weekends (7-8 and 14-15 November) tend to be the busiest and the most picked over.
If you are planning a family day out around it, our guide to Sandakan wildlife attraction prices covers Sepilok, Labuk Bay and the rest of what is nearby.
