PUTRAJAYA - The final report of the investigation into the Sabah Air plane crash that killed the then Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens has been classified as an open document and can be accessed on the Transport Ministry’s website from today.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the report had been declassified in accordance with Section 2C of the Official Secrets Act 1972.
He said the process to declassify the report was completed on April 6 after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the declassification of the report on the tragedy, also known as ‘Double Six’, on April 5.
"As of today, the full report can be downloaded from the Transport Ministry’s official website at https://www.mot.gov.my/en/aviation/reports/n22b-nomad,” he said in a statement today.
He said the final report of the investigation into the Nomad N22B 9M-ATZ air crash was completed on Jan 25, 1977 and presented to the Cabinet in March 1977.
"However, the results of the report were never made public. As such, for nearly 47 years, the family members of the victims never knew the facts and reasons behind the crash,” he said.
A total of 11 people lost their lives in the Double Six tragedy, including senior Sabah government leaders at that time, namely Fuad (Sabah Chief Minister); Datuk Peter Joinod Mojuntin (Sabah Housing and Local Government Minister); Datuk Chong Thien Vun (Sabah Works and Communication Minister); and Datuk Salleh Sulong (Sabah Finance Minister).
Others who died in the air crash included Datuk Darius Binion (Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister); Datuk Wahid Peter Andau (Sabah Finance Ministry secretary); Dr Syed Hussein Wafa (Sabah Economic Planning Unit director); Ishak Atan (Malaysian Minister of Finance private secretary); Corporal Said Mohammad (Sabah Chief Minister’s bodyguard); Johari Fuad Stephens (Sabah Chief Minister’s son); and pilot Gandhi J Nathan.
Loke said every aviation incident must be transparently and comprehensively investigated to instil international trust in Malaysia’s ability to build an aviation industry that is credible and meets the highest standards.
"The Transport Ministry is committed to continuing this principle of transparency,” said Loke, who also expressed his condolences to all the families and next-of-kin of the victims who died in the Double Six tragedy.
Anwar, on April 5, said the decision to declassify the report was made in the interest of the victims’ families as well as the views of the people of Sabah who wanted detailed information about the incident.
In the incident, an Australian-made Nomad 9M-ATZ aircraft operated by Sabah Air carrying the group on its way from Labuan, crashed in the Sembulan district, while approaching the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sabah.
On March 8, the media reported that the High Court in Sabah ordered Putrajaya to take the necessary steps to declassify the report on the incident and to make it public. - BERNAMA