High Court orders Federal Govt to declassify ‘Double Six’ report in tragedy that killed former Sabah CM

KOTA KINABALU: The investigation report on the "Double Six" plane crash that killed former Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens is expected to be made public after 47 years under wraps.

This was after the High Court here on Wednesday (March 8) ordered for Putrajaya to take the necessary steps to declassify the report by the Malaysian authorities on the tragedy in which Fuad and 10 others perished on June 6, 1976.

The crash had sparked numerous political conspiracy theories over the decades.

High Court judge Justice Christopher Chin Soo Yin delivered a mandamus order during the ruling of a judicial review filed by Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh, who succeeded Fuad as chief minister after his death, to declassify the report.

This was to make public the investigation report by Malaysian authorities into the crash of an Australian-made Nomad aircraft 9M-ATZ crash in Kota Kinabalu.

In his ruling, Justice Chin also ordered the Chief Secretary, Transport Minister as well as the Malaysian Government to act necessarily to make the report public in three months’ time or by June 8 this year.

“And to the extent that if such disclosure requires, by treaty or otherwise, concomitant action by the Australian government, that the respondents do take immediate steps to procure such action, to facilitate the prompt de-classification ordered,” he said in his grounds of judgment.

The Australian government had not released the cause of the Nomad aircraft crash report on the request of the Malaysian government previously.

Fuad and state ministers Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Chong Thien Vun died in the ill-fated flight.

They were on a flight from Labuan when the aircraft crashed in Sembulan here while approaching the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Among others who died were state assistant minister Darius Binion, Sabah Finance Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Wahid Peter Andau, Isak Atan (private secretary to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who was the Finance Minister then), Kpl Said Mohammad (bodyguard to Fuad), pilot Capt Gandhi Nathan and Fuad’s eldest son Johari Stephens.

A memorial ceremony is held every year to remember the tragedy at the crash site in what is known as the Double Six Monument in Sembulan.

In his grounds of judgment earlier, Justice Chin said the mystery surrounding the crash remained a burning issue among Sabahans and that this lack of closure has been reflected in the media.