Double Six Tragedy: Families full of praise for Anwar

Kota Kinabalu: Family members of some of the 11 who died in the June 6, 1976 Nomad plane crash are grateful to the Unity Federal Cabinet, particularly Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for Wednesday’s decision to declassify the reports on the tragedy’s findings after 47 years, by next week.While hoping that the decision would put to rest all uncertainties and conspiracy theories that have cropped up the last four decades, they also hoped the Australian Government would do likewise regarding their findings as to how and why the Australian-built plane crashed minutes before landing in Sembulan that fateful day. In the incident, Tun Fuad Stephens, who had been sworn in as chief minister just 53 days earlier, died along with 10 others, including state ministers. The others included state ministers Salleh Sulong, Chong Thien Vun and Peter Mojuntin.

“I am grateful to the Prime Minister and Cabinet for going down this road after 47 years. But my view is that the Australian government must also declassify all the documents it has on the plane crash and on the plane if we are to get the full picture,” said Faridah Stephens.

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Faridah said she inquired from the Air Accident Inspector at the Malaysian Air Accident Investigation Bureau in June 2020 asking for this report. “I was told they couldn’t find it and even if they could, it was classified. I also wrote to then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the same time but got no response,” she said. Datuk Donald Mojuntin said the High Court’s order to declassify the federal investigation report was a much welcomed decision and a relief to most Sabahans. “However, the decision by the Federal Cabinet today is the one that the respective families of victims have been waiting for nearly 47 years. The long wait is finally over.

“Now we can perhaps finally have complete closure over the tragedy,” he said. “Our deep and heartfelt appreciation to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of our present Unity Federal Government for finally doing the right thing. “To us, the Prime Minister is ‘walking the talk’ about more transparency and openness in our unity government. He recognises the agony and great sorrow felt not only by the victim’s families but also most Sabahans.

“This Federal Cabinet is the first to acknowledge, through action and not merely words, the right of citizens to access information which is in the public interest and the need to curb the government’s power to withhold information unnecessarily or discriminately.

“We certainly hope this decision will put to rest all the uncertainties and conspiracy theories that have cropped up for the last four decades.

“With this historical decision, the family of the late Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin hopes that the Federal Cabinet will also lift the ban on the publication and distribution of the book titled ‘The Golden Son of the Kadazan’, a book that gives us a glimpse of Peter as a revered leader in Sabah politics. “It is an inspiring book that should be shared by everyone. We do not know of any reasonable justification in banning the book nor were we given any reasonable explanation of it. We implore the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to continue doing the right thing,” he said. Datin Jikilin Binion, widow of Darius, said: “I am happy but I want it to be transparent and the actual full report, not something that has already been reported again and again all these years.”

Iskandar Sulong, the son of Datuk Salleh Sulong, said: “Great to hear this. Finally after all this time we have a great Prime Minister who actually understands the feelings of the families and the rakyat.

“Hopefully there is also compensation to the families who had to live with this their whole lives,” he said. Captain Nizam Ghandi Nathan, son of pilot Captain Gandhi Nathan also expressed joy, saying “I am happy, my family are happy and I believe all Sabahans are happy with the decision. We look forward to the full report.” In March, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ordered Putrajaya to declassify the report, popularly known as the “Double Six tragedy”.

Justice Christopher Chin issued an order to compel the government to make public the documents on the crash and gave Putrajaya until June 8 to comply.

The ruling by Chin stemmed from a lawsuit filed by former Chief Minister Harris Salleh following a comprehensive 20-part investigative series by Daily Express into the crash. In particular, the paper questioned aloud the prolonged secrecy by successive federal governments who did not live up to the promise of making both the Malaysian and Australian findings public.

Watch Daily Express' feature length documentary on the Double Six Tragedy here:

However, that same month, the Attorney-General’s Chambers filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision.

It is understood that the AG’s chambers attempted to strike a deal with the lawyers for Harris, saying it would be willing to release the Australian findings while the Malaysian findings remain classified and also Harris drops his action.

The lawyers for Harris rejected the offer, saying there was no reason to agree to disclose only the Australian findings but not the Malaysian findings.

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Daily Express Malaysia

Following the incident, the Australian GAF Nomad manufacturer and the Australian Department of Transport launched an investigation to prove that the crash was not due to mechanical issues.

The investigation was completed some four months later, but the full report was not made public. Instead, it was classified under the OSA.

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