Only RCI can provide closure to mystery

Published on: Sunday, June 23, 2019

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Come every double six or 6th June in Kota Kinabalu, we are reminded the most tragic event in Sabah and Malaysia that changed the landscape of Sabah politically, economically, socially, mentally, emotionally and possibly spiritually in a land once so as to speak “peaceful”.

We also soon lost our wealth in oil and then Labuan, my homeland.

I was in UK from 1974 until 1980 as a self-paying student of ACCA but this event also changed my outlook and possibly my life. I was sort of much devastated on 6th June, 1976 when I heard over the news that so and so had perished.

I had earlier written to congratulate Tun Fuad and his new party for winning the State polls as I had much trouble with the previous regime. Very surprising in his very busy schedule in the new Government, Fuad had the time and effort to reply to me with a letter dated 4th June, 1976 amongst so many letters he had received as he wrote in his letter.

Then I was more surprised that a letter came to me in London a few days after 6th June, 1976. I treasure that letter very much and that is still with me as Fuad did offer much hope to me for a new government. I did campaign for a regime change (stigma still with me) in late 1960s to early 1970s.

We all know what had happened on 6th June, 1976 but until today there is no closure of the case to set the people of Sabah free. Can any civil court really make any closure to the case?

Maybe confession of those involved in one way or another would enable an appropriate closure. We know it may not be easy to do that except we heard a confession from someone in the recent gay case in Sandakan soon after its video went viral.

Nevertheless, people had come to me with sort of complete or incomplete stories or information about the double six after I returned to KK in 1980 but I remained helpless to take it any way except now I am writing about it.

Most of the people who knew about double six could be no longer in Sabah but some are still around possibly as very senior citizens. Would these people act on what they know?

A former director of civil aviation department once told me in my office in the 1980s that at the time of the small plane heading to KK airport someone very senior in the civil service once was at the control tower (out-of-bound) and that may explain why the arriving plane was delayed in landing.

So why did the plane possibly with a bomb landed in shallow water? It would have been different if it fell in deep water not easily visible. Residents in Sembulan could reach the crashed site almost instantly.

If it had not been a bomb in the plane how could the metal portions of the plane be so twisted by sort of excessive force as we saw the broken plane lying in the shallow water with blood everywhere.

Now try this experiment and throw a similar small plane from the same height of that doomed plane and see what happen to the plane.

While we still have some people around with knowledge of the fatal incident, why not install a Royal Commission of Inquiry for a proper closure.

Even the book titled “The golden son of the Kadazan” with vivid descriptions of the tragic incident is banned till today. Why? Is there anything to hide?

Is it too late to set up RCI for the double six? Not so as the very old Bank Negara case was dealt with an RCI decades after.

It is good for all to have a closure even so late than never for the holistic healing.

Joshua Y C Kong