KOTA KINABALU – The long-awaited declassification of the probe into the infamous Double Six air crash may put an end to the mystery behind the tragedy. However, it will not debunk the conspiracy theories if and when the federal government eventually has it released, said Sabah Law Society president Roger Chin.
He said the high court decision yesterday to have the investigation report declassified was not necessary to begin with, but would bring about closure to the case after nearly 50 years.
“I am made to understand the report was declassified by Australia for some time now and the report will not likely contain anything striking, and it certainly does not contain a smoking gun and will not identify a person at fault, and other matters.
“So, the action was really not necessary to begin with.
“No conspiracy theories will be debunked as I am told it’s pretty much what we know already, even on whether the state has rejected or agreed to the oil agreement, which brings forth the 5% oil royalty.
“But regardless, it may go a long way towards closing a chapter and bringing speculation to an end,” he told The Vibes today.
The Kota Kinabalu High Court yesterday ordered the Malaysian government to declassify the federal investigation report on the June 6, 1976 plane crash that killed then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and 10 others onboard.
The judge also gave the federal government three months or until June 8 to comply.
Former chief minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh filed the judicial review to make the report public on July 11, 2022. He today told a local daily in reaction to the court’s decision that since the air crash occurred, “he had been forced to put up with insinuations on every anniversary that he may have had something to do with the Double Six tragedy.”
Harris was made chief minister following the incident and subsequently signed – while the state was still recovering from the deaths of the perished state leaders – the oil agreement that brought forth the 5% oil royalty for Sabah.
Questions on the chain of events led to allegations that the signing of the agreement was rushed and raised the conspiracy theory that the tragedy was part of a deliberate plot to see Sabah lose its oil and gas rights.
The report which includes the findings of a team of experts from the Australian Transport Department and aircraft manufacturer GAF Nomad, titled “G. Bennett – Sabah Air Nomad – Report by Government Aircraft Factories (GAF)” has been classified in Malaysia since 1976.
The report is currently kept at the National Archives of Australia but remains restricted as “Malaysia has not yet publicly released their final and full report of the investigation.”
Those who perished in the Double Six crash included then chief minister Stephens and state ministers Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, and Chong Thien Vun.
They were on board the ill-fated aircraft from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu when the crash occurred.
Others on board were state assistant minister Darius Binion, Sabah Finance Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Wahid Peter Andau, Isak Atan (private secretary to Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who was then federal finance minister), Said Mohammad (bodyguard to Stephens), pilot Gandhi Nathan, and Stephens’ eldest son Johari Stephens.
A state memorial service is held to commemorate the incident annually.
The son of one of the victims, Iskandar Sulong, concurred with Chin’s views but said he was personally upset the federal government was dilly-dallying on declassifying the report after close to 50 years.
“I find it unfair to the families of the victims that they decided to hold back this information after all this time,” he said. – The Vibes, March 9, 2023
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