Double Six Declassified Report Family Members Not Satisfied

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Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick (left) speaks to Datin Jikilin Binion at the latter’s home in Jalan Pipit Uban, Luyang. -NSTP/MOHD ADAM ARININKOTA KINABALU: Datin Jikilin Majitan, 88, the widow of the then state assistant minister Datuk Darius Binion, has expressed her dissatisfaction over the declassified report on the "Double Six" tragedy.
"It is difficult to accept that a plane flying a short distance from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu could crash," she said when Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick handed a copy of the report to her in Luyang today.
Jikilin also spoke about her last conversation with her husband before he boarded the plane.
She said Darius had taken part in a walkathon in Kota Kinabalu before he returned home and asked her to prepare two half-boiled eggs while he took a bath.
While consuming the eggs, Darius suddenly said, "I'm leaving".
Those words still haunt Jikilin to this day.
A week after the accident, Jikilin went to the police station to claim her husband's belongings that were retrieved from the crash site.
A damaged Omega watch, a dented ring which had been fixed and a broken pen were the only items kept for remembrance, she said.
"My grandma felt quite relieved when the report was declassified, but we have difficulty explaining it to her because it was too technical," said Jikilin's oldest granddaughter, Melody Kim Marcus, who works as a graphic designer.
"We still feel that something is missing from the report," said Melody, who knew the whole story from her grandmother.
"I felt there are still a lot of things left unsaid, uncovered and unexposed. And to be honest, this accident was not well documented compared to other historical events in Malaysia," said Melody.
Ewon expressed sympathy for the family's loss.
He said the family members should be given moral support as it was not easy to accept the accident, let alone the report that was only obtained after 47 years.
"For now, we should give space to the family members to read the report."
He hopes the release of the report will provide answers for the people of Sabah.
Earlier, Ewon visited Datin Nancy Mary Mobijohn, the widow of the then local government and housing minister Datuk Peter Mojuntin in Penampang.
The plane crash on June 6, 1976 killed 11 passengers, including the then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens. - Star

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