By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 25: The Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Stakan Branch has proposed the introduction of a Recall Law in Sarawak, aimed at giving voters the power to remove their Member of Parliament (MP) or assemblymen (ADUN) before the end of their five-year term under specific circumstances.
SUPP Stakan Branch chairman Cr Dato Sim Kiang Chiok emphasised that the legislation is crucial for upholding the integrity of democracy and ensuring that elected representatives remain accountable to the people who put them in office.
According to the proposal, a recall process could be initiated if a representative reneges on core electoral promises made during the campaign, misleads the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) or Parliament, or is involved in substantiated moral misconduct that tarnishes the dignity of the office.
“A victory at the polls should not be a ‘blank cheque’ for five years of unaccountability.
“When a representative fails the people, voters should not have to wait until the next general election to take action,” he said in a statement today.
He proposed that the electorate could initiate a removal move through a petition supported by at least 10 per cent of registered voters in the constituency. Once the threshold is met and verified, a recall election or formal removal process would be triggered.
Sim pointed out that democratic safeguards like this are already practised in advanced parliamentary systems.
In the United Kingdom, the Recall of MPs Act 2015 allows voters to remove an MP through a petition when legal or disciplinary thresholds are met. Similarly, Senedd Cymru recently passed legislation enabling voters to remove Members of the Senedd between elections, reinforcing accountability and public trust in elected office.
“These international examples demonstrate that recall laws strengthen, not weaken, parliamentary democracy.
“They ensure elected leaders remain answerable to the rakyat throughout their term,” he explained.
He added that as Sarawak advances its rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), it is essential to maintain world-class democratic standards.
“If an MP or ADUN betrays the trust of voters or behaves in a manner unbecoming of a leader, the people must have the legal tool to withdraw their mandate,” he said.
SUPP Stakan has urged the relevant authorities to study the feasibility of incorporating a Recall Act into the State legislative framework and to consider similar provisions at the federal level, further strengthening parliamentary democracy within the Sarawak Legislative Assembly and Malaysia as a whole. — DayakDaily
