Sabah today if not for Double Six tragedy: Sipaun
Published on: Monday, June 13, 2022
By: David Thien
Kota Kinabalu: Former State Secretary Tan Sri Simon Sipaun (inset) said Sabah will have fared better, including in its dealings with the Federal Government, if the Double Six tragedy that wiped out five of Sabah’s top leaders, along with six others, did not happen on June 6, 1976.For one thing, he said, the Berjaya State Government would have continued to rule the State well beyond April 1985 and that Sabah’s share of its petroleum resources would have been more than just five per cent royalty.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The circumstances that led to the formation of PBS would not have arisen. PBS would not have been formed and Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan would not have become Chief Minister.
“Pairin would also not be Huguan Siou today,” he said, when invited by Daily Express Chief Editor James Sarda to share his thoughts at the “Double Six: The Untold Stories Documentary Premiere” at the Double Six memorial Hall in Sembulan, last Monday.
The event was in conjunction with the 46th year of the tragedy, as well as making available on U-tube, the special two-hour documentary on the incident by Daily Express.
“Umno, possibly, would not be in Sabah today and Labuan would not have become a Federal Territory. The illegal immigrants would also not have become what they are today.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Democratic practices and good governance would have been better observed. Sabah would not have become the poorest state in the country.”
Sipaun who later served as Suhakam Vice Chairman, said the State civil service would be more multi-ethnic and multi-religious with greater emphasis on meritocracy.
ADVERTISEMENT
“There would be less politics dominated by race and religion. Generally, Sabah would have been a better place to live in.”
The crash two months after Berjaya ousted Usno in elections claimed the lives of Chief Minister Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens, Finance Minister Datuk Salleh Sulong, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Works and Communication Minister Datuk Chong Thien Vun, Assistant Minister to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Darius Binion, Permanent Secretary to the Finance Ministry Datuk Wahid Peter Andu, State Economic Planning Unit Director Dr Syed Hussein Wafa, besides four others.
Sipaun recalled having travelled on the same Australian-made GAF Nomad aircraft on Saturday June, 5, 1976 to Labuan with Stephens and Darius. The plane crashed in Sembulan around 3pm the following day on its way back to KK.
At that material time, Sipaun was the Permanent Secretary to the Works and Communication Ministry helmed by Chong, who was his Victoria University (NZ) mate.
Salleh was Sipaun’s classmate right up to Form Six as the first batch of Form Six students in then British North Borneo.
“He was Minister of Local Government during Usno and I was his Permanent Secretary.”
Mojuntin was Sipaun’s boarding schoolmate at Sacred Heart Secondary School in Tg Aru in the mid-1950s.
Like many others, Sipaun expressed disappointment that the full report on the investigation into the incident was not released until today.
“Why was the plane asked to circle around the airport before it was allowed to land? I understand that any plane carrying VIPs would normally be given priority to land.
“As long as the report on the investigation is not released, questions will be asked. If the authorities have nothing to hide, why should the release of the report be withheld?
“The public deserve to know the truth,” he said, and suggested that an independent commission of enquiry look into the matter.
“Although it faces difficulty as more and more people involved who witnessed the historic occasion have passed away.”
The alleged landing delay was one of the claims the documentary hoped to ascertain.
However, the Air Traffic Controller then, Albert Oh, said he could not recall what happened and considered the matter closed.
Sipaun said he was so traumatised that he could not eat for a week following the tragedy as he could not believe such a thing could happen. “It was a case of one moment there was life and gone the next moment.”
He said an important lesson from this incident is for important people to not travel in a group together.
Looking back, he said, the utterances of several of those who died, seemed unusual.
For instance, he said, he remarked to Dr Hussein Wafa, the EPU Director, that he looked good in the Russian Cossack headgear.
“He responded saying if he did not wear it for that occasion, he might never have the opportunity to wear it again.”
Sipaun said Darius was with him on the return plane trip to KK that Saturday evening, as he (Darius) had to attend a walkathon the following morning.
“Darius remarked to me whether I realised that all the eggs are in one basket in Labuan and that should anything happen all the eggs would be finished.”
“At that time I didn’t think much about it,” Sipaun said, adding when he heard about the crash he immediately phoned Darius to tell him how lucky he was to return with him to KK the day before.
“But no one picked up the phone and I later found out that he went back to Labuan after the walkathon.”
Sipaun also said when he was asked to go to Labuan, his understanding was that it was to witness the signing of the oil royalty agreement.
“I never knew why the agreement was not signed in Labuan despite that the relevant federal and state leaders were there.
“Possibly, there could have been a change of heart at the 11th hour,” he said.
In the Daily Express documentary, former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris, who succeeded Stephens, said many wrongly assumed that the signing was supposed to be in Labuan.
He said actually the signing was due to take place at the Istana in Kota Kinabalu upon their return.
He said the leaders met in Labuan to celebrate the Parti Berjaya victory in the State elections two months earlier.
A Daily Express report published a week before the tragedy confirmed Harris’ contention that the signing ceremony was scheduled to be held in the State Capital and not in Labuan.
Former Petronas Chairman and Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh in a separate Daily Express interview said the 5pc royalty was agreed to in discussions between him (Razaleigh) and Stephens after the Berjaya victory.
Harris is quoted in the documentary as saying that the rate was mentioned to the State Cabinet by Stephens, who said all the other oil producing states were agreeable and so the State Cabinet went along.
Sabah was the last of the four oil producing states to sign the 5pc royalty, two years after the Petroleum Development Act was passed in parliament in 1974.
Then Usno Chief Miinister Tun Mustapha refused and even told Tengku Razaleigh to take the next flight back to KL when he came to Kota Kinabalu to seek the State's consent.
It was signed after Parti Berjaya ousted Usno in the 1976 Sabah State election and 10 days after the tragedy.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
.jpg)
