Friday 7 June 2013

DOUBLE 6 HISTORY, CHART SABAH’S FUTURE






KOTA KINABALU : “The Double 6 Tragedy should not only be remembered as a tragic event but as a history changing tragedy and be remembered and used to chart Sabah’s future course” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, after attending a memorial service organized by STAR Sabah at the Double 6 Monument in Sembulan yesterday to pay their respect and tribute to the fallen heroes in the tragic plane crash.

The plane crash had horrifically claimed 11 lives including the late Tun Fuad Stephens and 3 of his senior Ministers and their loss is still felt today not only by their families and loved ones but by all Sabahans.

More tragically, the tragedy changed the course of Sabah and brought about dire consequences in which all Sabahans are still suffering from until today.

We need to reflect on some of the events like the signing of the Sabah Oil Agreement a short 8 days after the crash which until today altered Sabah’s wealth inheritance and led to a massive 95% loss of oil revenues  and wholesale failure of development. 

As a result, today, we see that Sabah lost RM17.88 billlion in oil revenue in 2012 (with Sabah getting only a pittance RM941.25 million) and became the poorest State in Malaysia from 2010.

From once a rich and proud nation in 1970, it is now a colony of Malaya and its riches and wealth plundered to finance overall development in Malaya.   While back home, we not only suffer the ignominy and shame of abject poverty caused by leaders from Kuala Lumpur, lack of supply of clean treated water, lack of basic amenities and a total abandonment and failure to build a proper sealed road network throughout the State.

More misfortune and untold loss was to come after the tragedy.  

Sabah ended up being downgraded from nationhood status to being the 12th State in Malaysia in August 1976 and our beloved Head of State downgraded to “Yang DiPertua Negeri” from “Yang DiPertua Negara”.

Sabah’s security and sovereignty were then mortgaged and compromised; the demographics of the natives population totally changed forever and political franchise usurped by the wanton issuance of dubious ICs and later MyKads to unqualified foreigners openly declared to be born in Sabah when they were not.  The manipulation was later magnified and multiplied by the so-called “Project IC/Mahathir” and “Ops Durian Buruk”.

Lamenting and blaming it as a catastrophic misfortune and hoping for prevention of similar tragedies will be of no help to the future of Sabah. 

We need to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and learn from the painful and bitter lessons of the tragic Double 6 and its consequences.  We need to remember the tragedy to avoid making the same mistakes and at the same time to rectify whatever past mistakes and use the lesson learnt to chart Sabah’s future.

“Sabahans must learn to love and protect Sabah, our homeland our home and endear it to our heart and to save and preserve our beloved Sabah for our future generations” concluded Dr. Jeffrey.

18 comments:

  1. Put Double Six tragedy to rest, SAPP told

    KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) should put to rest the Double Six tragedy as re-opening the investigation will only open old wounds of those who lost their loved ones in the airplane crash.

    Former Moyog assemblyman Datuk Donald Mojuntin, who lost his father Datuk Peter Mojuntin in the tragedy on June 6, 1976, said that SAPP must have a purpose as to why it wants to re-open the investigation into the case.

    “In order to open up something, there must be a purpose. What is the purpose?” Donald asked when met yesterday after the Memorial Service for those who perished in the airplane crash in Sembulan.

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  2. According to Donald, the purpose (for re-opening the investigation) must be good for all, not just a particular group of people.
    It must be good for Sabah, he said, when asked to comment on SAPP wanting to reopen the investigation into the tragedy.

    “If it is good for Sabah… if there is benefit from opening up this case and investigating it then so be it. But at this point in time it seems to be political and everything cannot be political,” he opined.

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  3. Donald added that everyone is entitled, whatever their political affiliation, to come here and show their respects to our past leaders.

    “There is nothing stopping them but opening up the case is a whole different matter altogether. As far as I am concerned, I have been quite clear on the matter, as far as my family is concerned, it took us a long time to get closure over this tragedy. Now we have that closure and we do not want to open up old wounds and I am sure the other families are of that thinking,” he said.

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  4. The crash claimed the lives of the then Sabah Chief Minister Tun Mohammed Fuad Stephens and three of the state Cabinet ministers, namely Minister of Finance Datuk Salleh Sulong, Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Minister of Works and Communications Datuk Chong Thien Vun.

    Also killed were assistant minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Darius Binion, permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry Datuk Wahid Peter Andu, Economic Planning Unit director Dr Syed Hussien Wafa, private secretary to Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah, Ishak Atan, Tun Fuad’s eldest son Johari, his bodyguard Corporal Said Mohamed and the pilot of the aircraft Gandhi Nathan.

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  5. we should learn and remembered what happened in the past. appreciate what our leaders sacrificed just to stand for us

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  6. Donald stressed that the state leaders who perished in the crash had epitomize real unity in Sabah.

    They represented a common purpose, irrespective of race, religion, he said adding: “I think that was one of the best times. For us now, we can perhaps learn from that. We need to get people together without due consideration of race, religion. No hang ups about race or religion. We should be Sabahans.

    He is of the opinion that the unity of the past is not felt in Sabah at the moment and he felt that people are still searching for it.

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  7. Donald also expressed his gratitude to the state government for organizing the memorial day for the Double Six tragedy, adding that he hoped that people would take the opportunity to learn more about Sabah’s history.

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  8. Meanwhile, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) should put to rest the Double Six tragedy as re-opening the investigation will only open old wounds of those who lost their loved ones in the airplane crash.

    Former Moyog assemblyman Datuk Donald Mojuntin, who lost his father Datuk Peter Mojuntin in the tragedy on June 6, 1976, said that SAPP must have a purpose as to why it wants to re-open the investigation into the case.

    ReplyDelete
  9. According to Donald, the purpose (for re-opening the investigation) must be good for all, not just a particular group of people.

    It must be good for Sabah, he said, when asked to comment on SAPP wanting to reopen the investigation into the tragedy.

    Donald added that everyone is entitled, whatever their political affiliation, to come here and show their respects to our past leaders.

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  10. Tugu peringatan 'Double Six' yang dibina bagi memperingati mangsa nahas pesawat Nomad yang mengorbankan Ketua Menteri pertama Sabah Tun Mohammed Fuad Stephens dan 10 lagi, kini menjadi tumpuan pelancong.

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  11. Justeru itu, kata Pembantu Menteri kepada Ketua Menteri, Datuk Edward Yong Oui Fah, pewujudan tugu berkenaan harus dimanfaatkan dan dijadikan antara destinasi rasmi pelancongan Sabah.

    "Ini adalah satu tempat tapak sejarah yang bukan hanya signifikan dari segi politik tetapi juga dari segi sejarah mengenai pemimpin yang telah banyak memberi sumbangan kepada Sabah," katanya

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  12. pada 7 Jun 1976, Isnin, yang mengemparkan dunia. Hampir separuh anggota menteri kabinet Sabah, termasuk Ketua Menteri Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens, 3 menteri kabinet dan seorang pembantu menteri, terkorban dalam nahas itu. Gambar diambil dari http://sikmading.blogspot.com

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  13. Tugu peringatan memorial peristiwa sedih negeri Sabah itu yang didirikan di Sembulan, kini kawasan perumahan dikenali Grace Ville. Pada 6 Jun setiap tahun, upacara memorial diadakan di sini oleh kaum keluarga mangsa nahas kapal terbang itu.

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  14. Ketua Menteri Sabah ketika itu Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens yang juga Huguan Siou Pertama dan 10 yang lain termasuk 3 menteri kabinet dan seorang pembantu menteri, terkorban dalam nahas udara dikenali Double Six Tragedy di Sembulan dekat Kota Kinabalu.

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  15. Pesawat malang yang dinaiki jenis Nomad buatan Australia, milik Sabah Air

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  16. Kejadian berlaku ketika Tun Fuad baru berusia 56 tahun dan baru 53 hari menjadi Ketua Menteri Sabah selepas parti Berjaya yang ditubuhkan pada 15 Julai 1975 menang 28 daripada 48 kerusi DUN Sabah pada pilihanraya negeri April 1976. Tragedi yang amat menyedihkan...

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  17. Turut terkorban, menteri Kabinet Sabah, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Chong Thian Vun.

    Mereka yang terkorban dalam nahas udara pesawat Nomad milik Sabah Air pada 6 Jun 1976 di Kota Kinabalu.

    1. Ketua Menteri Sabah, Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens
    2. Menteri Kerajaan Tempatan Sabah, Datuk Peter Mojuntin
    3. Menteri Perhubungan dan Kerjaraya Sabah, Datuk Chong Thian Vun
    4. Menteri Kewangan Sabah, Datuk Salleh Sulong
    5. Pembantu Menteri kepada Timbalan Ketua Menteri, Darius Binion
    6. Setiausaha Tetap Kementerian Kewangan, Wahid Andu
    7. Pengarah Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri, Syed Hussein Wafa
    8. Setiausaha Sulit kepada Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Ishak Atan
    9. Pengawal peribadi kepada Tun Fuad, Kopral Mohd Said
    10. Juruterbang, Gandhi J Nathan
    11. Anak kepada Tun Fuad Stephens, Johari

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  18. Semoga roh kesemua 11 mangsa nahas udara itu bersemadi dengan aman dan dicucuri rahmat.

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