After 36 years as Serian MP, Richard Riot eyes 9th term

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) deputy president Richard Riot Jaem has expressed his intention to defend his Serian parliamentary seat in the next general election (GE16) in hopes of securing a ninth term as its MP.

Riot, who turns 75 in December, said he was still in good health and capable of representing the constituency after 36 years as its MP, Dayak Daily reported.

The former federal minister said it was ultimately up to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Abang Johari Openg and the SUPP leadership to decide whether to field him again.

“If I am given the chance, why not? I still feel healthy and capable of continuing to serve the people,” he was quoted as saying.

Riot added that he remained active on the ground, regularly visiting rural communities in his constituency, and had even been visiting villages across his constituency to celebrate Gawai.

He said age was just a number and that what mattered more was his ability to continue serving the people well.

Riot was first elected Serian MP in the 1990 general election as an independent candidate, defeating Barisan Nasional’s William Aham.

He was then re-elected to seven more terms on an SUPP ticket. He has served the party as deputy president since 2011 and is the party’s first non-Chinese deputy president.

Riot was deputy foreign minister from 2010 to 2013 before he was promoted as human resources minister, serving in that role from 2013 until 2018, when the BN government fell.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today