Kota Kinabalu: The release of the final report on the “Double Six” plane crash that killed the then Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and 10 others 47 years ago has sparked even more questions about why the crash was classified in the first place.
While the families involved are relieved that the Federal Government has finally released the full findings, they are disappointed that something so important was kept from them for so long.
In the incident on June 6, 1976, Fuad, who had been sworn in as Chief Minister just 53 days earlier, died along with 10 others, including state ministers, when the GAF Nomad aircraft they were in crashed in Sembulan, here. The others who died included state ministers Salleh Sulong, Chong Thien Vun and Peter Mojuntin.
“We are happy that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim agreed to declassify and make public the findings, but it has raised additional concerns not only among the victims’ families but Sabahans in general,” said Datuk Donald Mojuntin.
“I think it’s very obvious that if you classify a report for nearly 50 years and then it comes out as straightforward as it is, questions about why it was classified will be raised.
The Daily Express’ award winning team of journalists presents ‘Double Six: The Untold Stories’, a documentary on the plane crash in Sabah (East Malaysia) killing the newly-elected Chief Minister of Sabah Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens, four state ministers and six others on June 6th, 1976. After 46 years the findings of the crash also known to many as The Double Six Tragedy have not been disclosed. Note: This series unravels information not previously available to the public, but does not in any way attribute blame for the crash on any party.
“What national interest was being protected by classifying the report in the first place? That is what we don’t understand,” he said.
He hoped the Government would continue to do the right thing by investigating why the findings were classified in the first place.
“If the Government does this, it will complete the goodwill for declassifying the findings,” he said.
Datin Jikilin Binion, widow of Darius, is equally disappointed with the findings, saying “it’s the same findings that have been reported again and again all these years.”
“Why was it classified in the first place? This is the question playing on everyone’s mind now,” she said.
Iskandar Sulong, son of Salleh, said: “The Malaysian findings say it was a management fault, so as I say, why couldn’t they release this before? Why wait all these years and say this now?
“I am still waiting for the Government to tell the Australian government to release their findings for full closure,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee said having read the Malaysian report on the infamous “Double Six” air crash, he maintained his view that the Malaysian Government should immediately ask the Australian government to release their (Australian) full report on the same air crash.
“Only then, can there be closure on the tragic air crash,” he said.
