In the dark for 45 years

ANCIENT Greek tragedian Sophocles probably wrote the best lines about secrecy: “Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things and discloses all.”

In Malaysia, 45 years have passed since a horrific air crash took the lives of a Sabah chief minister and 10 others, yet the official report on its cause remains a secret.

But the crash of the Australian-made GAF N-22B Nomad turboprop plane belonging to Sabah Air on June 6, 1976, in the sea off Kota Kinabalu continues to haunt because many questions over the calamity linger on.

Among them are questions on whether the crash was linked to the signing of the Petroleum Development Agreement with the Federal Government – the state had reportedly asked for 20% royalty but was only offered 5%, the amount which was agreed upon later.

Dubbed the “Double Six Tragedy”, the terrible event took the lives of probably the best leaders of Sabah from that generation.

They are still venerated as heroes of the state and by their respective ethnic communities.

Tun Fuad Stephens, who had been sworn in as chief minister just 53 days earlier, perished along with Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Salleh Sulong, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Peter J. Mojuntin, Public Works and Communications Minister Chong Thien Vun, assistant minister to the chief minister Darius Binion and permanent secretary of the state Finance Ministry Datuk Wahid Peter Andu.

The others killed were state economic planning unit director Syed Hussin Wafa, Ishak Atan (executive assistant to Finance Minister and Petronas chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah), pilot Captain Gandhi Nathan, Fuad’s bodyguard Korporal Said Mohamed, and Fuad’s eldest son Johari.

Last Sunday, as in all previous anniversaries of the “Double Six Tragedy”, calls were again made to disclose the investigation report.

Sabahans paid their respects to the deceased leaders through messages and sharing of posters and photos on social media.

The Prime Minister at that time, Datuk (later Tun) Hussein Onn, ordered a full-scale investigation and a team comprising the Civil Aviation Department, air force, police and other related government departments was set up immediately.

At the end of the probe, Mohd Ali Sharif, then deputy minister of communication, issued a statement saying the findings did not reveal any technical errors or sabotage as being the cause of the crash, but “fault due to human error in addition to overloading in the aircraft’s storage space, resulting in loss of control before landing.”

But instead of being made public, the report was swiftly classified under the Official Secrets Act, 1972.

As the aircraft was not equipped with a black box to reveal conversations from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) or details of the flight data recorder (FDR), the probable causes are expert conjectures at best.

GAF also launched its own investigation to prove that the crash was not caused by technical defects and took more than four months to complete its findings.

However, the 12-page report remains under lock and key in the National Archives of Australia.

It has a condition, which states that it cannot be disclosed as long as Malaysia does not publicly release its final and full report of the investigation.

Not much has changed since then, but it has been reported that Australia would not act unless the Federal Government or family members of those killed initiate such a move.

In November last year, in a written reply to former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee, who had asked if the state would urge the Federal Government to make the report public, current Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said it was up to “the relevant authorities.”

Yong was entangled in a seven-year long defamation suit filed by Fuad’s immediate successor, Tan Sri Harris Salleh, when he called for a new probe in 2010, citing a reported claim by Tengku Razaleigh that he got off the ill-fated flight because Harris had asked him to take another flight to Banggi at the last minute. On Feb 28, 2012, the Sabah High Court had ordered Yong to pay Harris RM1mil in damages, but on Nov 19, 2013, the Court of Appeal ruled that the amount be refunded.

In another twist, the Federal Court ordered Yong on Sept 26, 2017, to pay Harris RM600,000 because he had implied that Harris had “blood on his hands” despite having no proof to back the allegation.

Before writing this column, I messaged my old friend Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin, son of the late minister, to share his thoughts on the tragedy, which dramatically changed the course of Sabah’s politics.

This was his response: “It’s been 45 years when the darkest chapter in Sabah politics occurred. Our family lost a husband and a father, as did the respective families of Tun Fuad and the other state leaders. It was hard in the early years, but our family needed closure on our loss in order to get on with our respective lives.

“Although each of us found some sort of closure, it was hard whenever people brought the subject of it being not given an acceptable conclusion. Personally, it still is hard for me 45 years on.”

Donald said Sabahans had been mourning the loss of the departed leaders for a long time, adding that he could not blame people for asking questions such as why there was never a full disclosure, were the authorities hiding something or whether the crash was related to the petroleum development deal.

“It is not surprising that many, if not most Sabahans, believe the existence of a conspiracy until today,” he said.

“The leaders we lost showed us that irrespective of race and religion, Sabahans could be united and be a force to be reckoned with in fighting for their rights.

“This translated to the overwhelming state election victory 53 days before the tragedy.”

Media consultant M. Veera Pandiyan likes this saying from Gautama Buddha: “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.