The daughter of former Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens has lauded the news that the government will declassify the federal investigation report on the 1976 plane crash that killed 11 people, including her late father.
However, Faridah Stephens told Malaysiakini that the Australian government must declassify all documents it has with regard to the Nomad plane which was the kind that was flown in the crash.
“This is a start towards getting at the truth, but my view is that the Australian government has to agree to declassify all the documents that it has in regard to Nomad planes, and the plane that crashed in Sabah.
“Could the Malaysian government now ask for these to be released? Would the Australian government comply? That would be our hope.
“We have wondered for too long what happened and this has led to incredible, sometimes crazy, speculation.
“At the time of the crash, the Australian investigators who came are reported in the newspapers as saying that there had never been a Nomad crash. That was a lie,” she said.
Faridah (above) said that there had been one in 1973, though no one died.
“In August 1976 there was another crash that killed the pilot and a crew member in Avalon, Victoria, near Melbourne.
“The handling problems of the plane were well known from the early 70s. Yet it took the Australian Air Force pilots' refusal to fly it - they called it the 'widowmaker' - to finally close down the government aircraft factory in Australia that produced the planes,” she added.
She also highlighted the Four Corners documentary of 1995 produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation titled 'Lies in the Sky' showing that many other people died in Nomads.
According to Bernama, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the full report would be made public next week.
“All this while, the government did not decide to declassify the report under the Official Secrets Act,” Anwar said at a press conference after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.
“Today, the cabinet took into consideration views expressed by Sabahans all these years, and also demands by families of the next-of-kins, in line with the government’s principle to uphold transparency.
“Therefore it has been decided that the final report of the Sabah Air crash on June 6, 1976, will be declassified. All of the information will be shared by the government through the Transport Ministry,” said Anwar.
Faridah said that the families of the victims were grateful that things were moving forward.
“Let me just say thank you to the prime minister and the cabinet for finally going down this road to disclose the report on the crash that killed so many of our loved ones and friends in 1976,” she said.
On March 8, Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Christopher Chin Soo Yin issued a mandamus order, which directed the government to initiate the required steps to make the report public.
He gave the government until June 8 to comply with the order. On March 15, the government filed an appeal against the decision.
Known as the “Double Six” crash, the report has remained classified for close to five decades.
‘Judge is right’
Also killed in the June 6 incident were then state ministers Salleh Sulong, Peter Mojuntin, and Chong Thien Vun.
Others who died were state assistant minister Darius Binion, Sabah Finance Ministry permanent secretary Wahid Peter Andau, Isak Atan ( who was the private secretary to then finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah), Corporal Said Mohammad (who was Fuad’s bodyguard), pilot Capt Gandhi Nathan and Fuad’s eldest son Johari Stephens.
Faridah said that Chin's judgment on March 8 is to be lauded.
“The judge is right. We all have the right to know. It is our hope that the Malaysian government - and the Australian government - will bring the information out into the open for scrutiny,” said Faridah.
Former Suhakam vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun has long called for a new investigation of the tragic crash, and he welcomes the upcoming publication of the report.
“For as long as the report of the investigation is not fully disclosed, I believe questions will continue to be asked.
“If the authorities have nothing to hide, I do not see any reason why it should be withheld. Only when the truth is known will the tragedy find some form of closure,” he told Malaysiakini.
He also questioned if the Attorney-General's Chambers had withdrawn its appeal against Chin’s decision.
“If they are releasing the report, does it mean the appeal will be withdrawn? If so, I welcome it,” he said. - Mkini
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