Aloysius
KOTA KINABALU: Sunduvan Sabah, a local NGO, will be organising a commemoration of the Double Six Tragedy, in conjunction with the 43th anniversary of a plane crash tragedy which claimed the lives of state leaders including the then Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens.
The tragedy also killed state finance minister Datuk Salleh Sulong; State Minister for Local Government and Housing, Datuk Peter Mojuntin; State Public Works and Communications Minister Chong Thien Vun; Assistant Minister to Chief Minister, Datuk Darius Binion and permanent secretary of State Finance Ministry Datuk Wahid Peter Andu. The others who were also killed included Dr Syed Hussien Wafa (director of the Economic Planning Unit), Ishak Atan (secretary-general Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah), Captain Gandhi Nathan (pilot), Corporal Said Mohamed (Tun Fuad’s guard) and Johari Stephens (eldest son of Tun Fuad).
The real reasons for the tragic crash still remain a mystery. No explanation of the tragedy has been disclosed.
Sunduvan chairman Aloysius Danim Siap, said he had invited various Sabah NGOs and local opposition party leaders and members from Star, PBS, SAPP, PPRS, PKS, Usno to wholeheartedly participate during the memorial service at the Double Six Monument located in Sembulan, Kota Kinabalu.
“Although 43 years have passed, some Sabahans still remember how they felt when they heard the news and they are still wondering what it was that had caused the crash,” said Aloysius.
It was called the Double Six Tragedy because it happened on June 6 in the shallow Sembulan waters. The plane was on its way from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu Airport when the GAF Nomad’s nose dropped in a one-and-a-half spiral plummet before crashing.
Aloysius said the people of Sabah were still waiting for the answer to what actually happened.
The complete report is said to be kept in the Australian National Archives but cannot be publicly disclosed. It can only be disclosed if the government of Malaysia and Sabah apply to the Australian government.
“After the change of a new government, we have yet to see any effort of the Pakatan Harapan and Sabah governments’ willingness to pursue this matter,” said Aloysius.
“Although various public debates had been conducted on this issue, the government has not come up with a full report, he said.
“Is it really human error, or plane problem, or sabotage?” Aloysius asked.
Conspiracy theorists insist that the crash had something to do with Sabah’s oil rights.
They pointed out that it happened when Fuad was negotiating Sabah’s oil rights with the Federal Government.
Aloysius said like every year, Sunduvan Sabah would host the same program at 9.30 am on 6 June 2019.
He added that members of the public are also invited if they want to join in the memorial services. As usual everyone is requested to wear a black T-shirt as a mark of respect.