This article is about the Malaysian politician. For the 1955 riot in Montreal, see Richard Riot.
Richard Riot Jaem
Honorific prefixYang Berhormat Dato' Sri
Birth nameRichard Riot anak Jaem
Birth date1 December 1951 (age 74)
Birth placeSerian, Crown Colony of Sarawak
OfficeSpecial Envoy of the Prime Minister
to East Asia
MonarchAbdullah
Prime ministerMuhyiddin Yassin
(2020–2021)
Ismail Sabri Yaakob
(2021–2022)
Term start15 May 2020
Term end24 November 2022
PredecessorTiong King Sing
Office 1Minister of Human Resources
Term start 116 May 2013
Term end 110 May 2018
Prime minister 1Najib Razak
Monarch 1
Deputy 1Ismail Muttalib
Predecessor 1Subramaniam Sathasivam
Successor 1M. Kulasegaran
Office 2Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Term start 24 June 2010
Term end 215 May 2013
Minister 2Anifah Aman
Prime minister 2Najib Razak
Monarch 2
Alongside 2Kohilan Pillay Appu
Predecessor 2Lee Chee Leong
Successor 2Hamzah Zainuddin
Constituency mp 3Serian
Parliament 3Malaysian
Term start 321 October 1990
Majority 3
Predecessor 3Lainus Andrew Luwak (Independent)
Office 4Deputy President of the
Sarawak United Peoples' Party
President 4
Term start 412 December 2011
Predecessor 4Law Hieng Ding
PartySarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP)
Other partyBarisan Nasional (BN) (until 2018)
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) (since 2018)
OccupationPolitician
SpouseMincha @ Kayen Lingeng
Alma materPreston University
Alongside 4Lee Kim Shin

Richard Riot anak Jaem (born 1 December 1951) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to East Asia from 2020 until 2022. A deputy president of Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP), he represented Serian in the Parliament of Malaysia since 1990.[1][2]

Born in Serian. He previously was the Minister of Human Resources and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs under former Prime Minister Najib Razak and former Minister Anifah Aman from 2010 to 2018.[3][4] He has also served the Chairman of the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB).

Political career

Party posts

During SUPP's triennial assembly in 2011, Riot was elected as the party's first non-Chinese deputy president.[5]

Parliamentary career

Riot first contested and won the Serian parliamentary seat in 1990 as an independent candidate. He was later re-elected for six consecutive terms beginning in 1995, all on a Barisan Nasional ticket.[6]

Ministerial career

After serving for more than 20 years as a government backbencher, Riot was appointed as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in a minor cabinet reshuffle on 1 June 2010.[7]

In 2013 he was promoted to a full ministerial position as Minister for Human Resources.[8]

Controversy

After the 12th Malaysian general election in March 2008, there was speculation that Riot would defect to the opposition People's Justice Party (PKR); however, Riot denied the speculation and the move did not materialised.[9][10]

In September 2017, Riot was engulfed in a corruption allegation after 40 million was found to be missing from the Skills Development Fund Corporation (SDFC) under the Ministry of Human Resources which he helmed as its minister.[11] Among those arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) included his political secretary. Riot himself was called in by the MACC and questioned for 10 hours.[12]

Following the historic 14th Malaysian general election in May 2018 which saw the fall of the BN coalition from power, rumours swirled around with speculation that Riot was looking to, yet again, join the PKR, which was now a component party of the ruling Alliance of Hope (PH) coalition.[13] This was denied by PKR Sarawak state liaison committee chairperson Baru Bian. Moreover, PH Sarawak chairperson, Chong Chieng Jen, advised his allied parties against accepting Riot in a statement declaring that his own, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), will not.[14][15]

Less than a year later in February 2019, Riot was again surrounded by speculation that he may jump ship, this time to the United Sarawak Party (PSB) which is a splinter party of the SUPP.[16]

On 29 February during the 2020 Malaysian political crisis, Riot was reported to have left SUPP to join PKR again.[17] Somehow the inaccurate rumour was quickly quashed after a video clip of him denying the claims went viral the next day.[18]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia[6]
YearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout
1990P160 SerianRichard Riot Jaem (IND)10,34957.45%William Aham7,66442.55%18,5162,68566.93%
1995P172 SerianRichard Riot Jaem (SUPP)12,11660.26%Marcellus Munjan (IND)4,56222.69%20,6907,55465.40%
Michael Runin (PBS)1,7538.72%
Andrew Nyabe (IND)9594.77%
Betram Sading Jihok (IND)7163.56%
1999P173 SerianRichard Riot Jaem (SUPP)12,49171.77%Anthony Polycarp Munjan (STAR)4,04023.21%17,9748,45159.76%
Shamsuddin Abdullah @ Pok Ungkut (IND)8725.01%
2004P199 SerianRichard Riot Jaem (SUPP)13,96076.60%Henry Ginai Langgie (IND)4,26523.40%18,6869,69559.13%
2008Richard Riot Jaem (SUPP)15,79386.97%Belayong Jayang (SNAP)2,36613.03%18,51613,42766.36%
2013Richard Riot Jaem (SUPP)19,49474.33%Edward Andrew Luak (DAP)6,34324.19%26,56213,15178.79%
Johnny Bob Aput (STAR)3901.49%
2018Richard Riot Jaem (SUPP)17,54563.99%Edward Andrew Luak (DAP)7,64027.86%27,8809,90574.09%
Senior William Rade (IND)2,2348.15%
2022Richard Riot Jaem (SUPP)22,87657.23%Alim Impira (IND)6,17915.46%40,62016,69761.24%
Elsiy Tinggang (PSB)5,63014.08%
Learry Jabul (DAP)5,28913.23%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

See also

References

  1. ^ "Riot receives appointment letter as special envoy". Borneo Post. 16 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Central Working Committee 2025 – 2027". SUPP Official. 2025.
  3. ^ "DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Malaysia). Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  4. ^ Wong, Jack (4 November 2004). "Cut fares, boatmen warned". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Peter Chin elected SUPP chief". New Straits Times. 12 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout (including votes for other candidates not listed).
  7. ^ "Appointment A Gawai Gift, says Riot". Bernama. 2 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Richard Riot Promoted To Full Minister". Bernama. 16 May 2013.
  9. ^ "I'm not crossing over, says Serian MP". The Star (Malaysia). 23 March 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  10. ^ Aznam, Suhaini (18 May 2008). "Hoping for a better future". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  11. ^ Chia, Jonathan (28 September 2017). "Those arrested in MACC investigation innocent until proven guilty – Riot". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  12. ^ Nik, Mazwin (30 September 2017). "Richard Riot questioned for 10 hours". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  13. ^ Tawie, Sulok (15 May 2018). "Sarawak PKR chief: Riot hasn't joined party". Malay Mail. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  14. ^ Ogilvy, Geryl (16 May 2018). "Sarawak Pakatan says 'no' to Riot joining them". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Riot not welcomed in PH – Chong". The Borneo Post. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Indications suggest Riot may be joining PSB". The Borneo Post. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Serian MP Riot joins PKR". Borneo Post. February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  18. ^ "Richard Riot denies joining PKR, video goes viral". Bernama. New Straits Times. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 2005". www.istiadat.gov.my
  20. ^ "The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's 62nd birthday honours list". The Star. 5 June 2005. Archived 15 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1997". www.istiadat.gov.my
  22. ^ "Former TYT leads Head of State's honours list". Borneo Post. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  23. ^ Sulok Tawie (12 September 1998). "George Chan heads list of 480 honoured by Sarawak". New Straits Times. p. 7.
  24. ^ Odleen Catherny (22 July 2023). "51 terima pingat sempena Hari Sarawak" (in Malay). TVS. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Artistes among those conferred titles in conjunction with Pahang Sultan's birthday". The Star. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2018.