6 June 1976 – Sabah’s first Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens boarded a Sabah Air plane at the Labuan airport together with several of his colleagues and his eldest son Johari. Little did they know that they would never make it back home.
They were on the way back to Kota Kinabalu after attending a gathering celebrating with Fuad’s close friend, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who was the finance minister and chairman of a prominent oil & gas company at that time.
Razaleigh was initially in the same aircraft but disembarked shortly before it took off as he was asked to attend to another matter by BERJAYA political leader Datuk Harris Salleh, who would later become the new Chief Minister.
It’s a lot to take in, but only the 11 on board the flight knew what happened in the moments before they perished. 47 years later, the unity government will declassify the final investigation report on the tragic accident. The details are expected to be made public next week.
The crash & victims
The aircraft crashed into the Sembulan sea at 3.30pm while it attempted to land at the Kota Kinabalu airport, just 3km away. Rescuers found Tun Fuad’s white shoes floating at the crash site. At that time, he was known for this signature look. His brother, Ben Stephens was among the first to arrive at the scene.
According to rescuers, the bodies were converged in the cockpit area. All 11 victims died upon impact. They are:
- Sabah Chief Minister, Tun Fuad Stephens
- Sabah Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Peter Mojuntin
- Finance Minister, Datuk Salleh Sulong
- Minister of Communications and Public Works, Chong Thien Vun
- State Assistant Minister for Chief Minister, Darius Binion
- Secretary of the State Ministry of Finance, Wahid Andu
- Director of State Economic Planning Unit, Syed Hussein Wafa
- Private Secretary to Tengku Razaleigh, Ishak Atan
- Fuad Stephens’ bodyguard, Corporal Mohd Said
- Pilot, Captain Ghani Nathan
- Fuad Stephens’ eldest son, Johari Stephens
Details of plane crash to be made public 47 years later
Known as the Double Six tragedy, the crash has previously been attributed to an overloaded plane and pilot error but otherwise remains uncertain. The aircraft, an Australian-made Nomad 9M-ATZ type is known to have mechanical failures as well.
The final investigation report will be declassified within the next to release facts about the crash that have not been made publicly available. This information may give closure to the victims’ families and grieving Sabahans. It may also answer questions about the cause of the crash.
Aftermath
After the crash, Sabah was left without a significant number of its prominent leaders just two months after the state election. Harris Salleh was made Chief Minister the same evening of the crash. Recently, he has been advocating for the report declassified as he had been “suffering insinuations” that he had something to do with the crash for decades.
Later, a memorial was built at the exact site of the crash at the Grace Garden housing area, Sembulan. It’s a monument consisting of an archway and obelisk with a plaque with details about the incident.
Meanwhile, “The Golden Son of the Kadazan” an autobiography about Datuk Peter Mojoutin, one of the crash victims, was banned on the grounds that it may disrupt national harmony. It mentions details of the airplane crash and speculates what may have happened.
A recent report by local media showed that Peter’s family is urging that the government lift the ban on the book as it would be a national treasure, giving a glimpse into the Sabah political landscape and the Kadazan community.
At least the families of the victims will know the full details of what happened to their loved ones soon. Let us know your thoughts about this tragedy in the comments, and share this article with your friends.