Vivian Wong spent her first morning as the elected representative for Sandakan visiting the grave of her late father Stephen Wong at the Sandakan Christian Cemetery.

Wong, 30, was accompanied by her mother Florence Chong and other family members, as well as members of Sandakan DAP.

Wong and her entourage lowered their heads at her late father's grave as a sign of respect for his services to the people as Sandakan MP for two terms.

She had difficulty holding back her tears as she placed flowers on his grave.

The youngest of four siblings, Wong dedicated her election victory in yesterday's by-election to her late father for his guidance in the political arena.

The parliamentary seat was left vacant following Stephen's death from a heart attack on March 28.

Wong won yesterday's contest with a majority larger than that obtained by her late father in the 14th general election, beating out PBS' Linda Tsen by 11,521 votes. 

She also defeated the three independent candidates, Hamzah Abdullah, Chia Siew Yung and Sulaiman Abdul Samat.

- Bernama