By Roslan Mutu
KUCHING, Nov 10: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) deputy president Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem is frustrated with his party’s top leadership for not recommending a Bidayuh as one of the political secretaries to represent the party.
Sharing his disappointment with DayakDaily today, he said, “You don’t play with Richard Riot. I have been patient for far too long. Enough is enough.”
Riot, who is the only SUPP candidate who won in the last general election, revealed that appointments to any important government posts, such as senators and political secretaries, were never discussed in his presence.
He was commenting on news reports about 32 political secretaries to the Chief Minister who took their oath of office before Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg yesterday. Of those appointed, three were new faces: Suzanne Lee Tze Ha of United People’s Party (UPP), Dr Simon Sinang Bada of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and Robert Ayu of Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Among the five political secretaries from SUPP, one is an Iban and four are Chinese.
Their appointment will be for a period of one year, from Oct 1, 2018, to Sept 30, 2019.
Out of the 32 political secretaries, only two are Bidayuhs, namely Dr Simon and Charles Chad Nissom, but they are from PBB and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) respectively.
Meanwhile, Riot, who is a seventh term MP, cited that the party should not have enacted or changed its constitutions to limit their MP’s tenure for only four terms, because that was definitely directed against him.
“Who else are they directed it at? The rest all lost, except me,” he said.
Riot also voiced out that the party’s creation of a Deputy President II post was meant to flush him out of the party. — DayakDaily
