Air crash more than historical event
(WikiSabah) – United Borneo Front (UBF) chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan told the court that the air crash on June 6, 1976 that killed former Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and all 10 others on board a Nomad aircraft is more than a historical event.
Jeffrey, 63, said it was a tragedy of huge proportions not only affecting the families of the crash victims but also affecting the State and the future of its people.
He said he did not know the real causes of the incident but he would like to know and was curious to know what really happened on that fateful day.
“I really would like to know what happened before that as it might have significant implications after the event,” Jeffrey said during examination-in-chief by counsel Datuk Simon Shim.
He said from his understanding of the causes of the incident after reading the papers the next day after the crash and also read books about it later, at that time there were people merely speculating as no investigation had been done at that time.
“From what I read, they talked about possibilities such as overloading, pilot error, maybe technical defect.
“These are being speculated upon at that time and when you think about it, this speculation raises more questions than answers,” he said.
Jeffrey was testifying before Justice Dato’ Abdul Rahman Sebli on the on-going hearing of a RM50 million suit brought by Tan Sri Harris Salleh against Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee and the party for allegedly insinuating that he (Harris) was involved in causing the plane crash.
Simon is the counsel for Yong and the party who are the first and second respondents respectively.
Harris, 81, who filed the suit on June 6, last year, is claiming for general damages, aggravated and exemplary damages of not less than RM50 million to be assessed separately against Yong and SAPP as the first and second defendants respectively.
He is also seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants whether by themselves or their servants or employees or agents from printing and publishing further the statements and similar libel in any form or means.
Harris is represented by counsels Yunof Maringking and Trevor Maringking.
To another question from Simon, Jeffrey said he was still interested to know what happened as there had been so many unanswered questions.
“This is a big tragedy involving half of the cabinet ministers and they were supposed to be in Labuan to sign an oil agreement and from what we know, the agreement was not signed and there was a crash including the Chief Minister (CM) who was supposed to sign the agreement.
“And then one week later it was signed by the next CM who took over who was not in that plane and who invited the Petronas chief, the other party to the agreement, out of the plane to another plane.
“So won’t you want to know? Would that not raise so many questions? Would that not lead to so many speculations? Some may even speculate that this incident might have been planned, otherwise why did this tragedy happen? Why was the agreement not signed? Why some people went out of the plane? Why was the agreement rushed when the State and the families were still in mourning?” he questioned.
To a further question from Simon, Jeffrey told the court that on the evening of April 2, 2010, he attended a talk by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah entitled, ‘Minyak Sabah Siapa Punya?’
In that talk, Jeffrey said Tengku Razaleigh was talking about the history of Petronas such as how Petronas was formed and his role in it and whether the five per cent royalty could ever be changed.
Jeffrey said Razaleigh in his speech had also talked about the air crash which really disturbed him.
