PUTRAJAYA, April 5 — The final report of the investigation into the Sabah Air plane crash that killed the then Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens, along with several members of the state Cabinet in 1976, has been declassified and to be made public next week.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the report on the tragedy which was also dubbed as ‘Double Six’ as it occurred on June 6, 1976, has been declassified, in accordance with Section 2C of the Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88).
“The full report on the Sabah Air crash will be made public next week through an official statement from the government and also the Ministry of Transport,” he said at a press conference after chairing the Cabinet meeting here today.
He said the decision 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.
Anwar said public disclosure regarding the report was also in line with the policy of openness and transparency practised by the Unity Government.
He said that many questions were raised as the people of Sabah wanted to know the results of the investigation team regarding the accident, after a lapse of 47 years.
“All this while, the government has not decided to make it public,” he said.
In the incident, an Australian-made Nomad 9M-ATZ aircraft operated by Sabah Air carrying the group on its way from Labuan, crashed in Sembulan district, while approaching 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.
