BALIK PULAU, June 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today spent some time mingling with the crowd at Balik Pulau Night Market which is situated in Kampung Permatang Tengah here.

This is his first appearance in Balik Pulau after being sworn in as the tenth Prime Minister on November 24 last year.

Anwar arrived at 6.20pm and spent about half an hour stopping to greet visitors and vendors and posing for photographs with some of them.

The prime minister also took time fanning satay over charcoal fire and stopping every now and then to ask traders how they were doing.

In addition, Anwar also helped himself to some food including Balik Pulau durians before leaving at about 7pm.

Also present to accompany Anwar were Balik Pulau Member of Parliament Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chi, Batu Maung assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain and several local leaders.

Meanwhile, Anwar Yaakob, a resident of Balik Pulau, expressed his excitement at finally meeting the PKR leader in his role as prime minister, saying that he had been a fan of Anwar for 25 years.

The 63-year-old man claimed that he had no idea that Anwar would be in Balik Pulau today, and happened to pass by the area before being told by his friend that Anwar was here.

"I didn’t want to miss the chance to see my idol, I have been interested in his steadfast struggle from the time he was young up till now,” he said when met here today.

Another resident, Mohd Faisol Hassan, 57, said he had also been following Anwar’s political development until today.

"I am from Sungai Rusa here but I have moved to work in Kedah... I took a day off today to meet the prime minister in Balik Pulau and take a photograph with him,” he said. — Bernama