ISKANDAR PUTERI: Retired fisherman Sulaiman Sharu (pic, left) will never forget that fateful day when he saw the hijacked flight MH653 explode in mid-air before it came crashing down in Tanjung Kupang 46 years ago.
He was 37 years old back then.
The senior citizen said he was in the middle of catching prawns at sea with his peers when he heard a loud booming noise.
“When I looked up at the night sky, I noticed only the front part of the aircraft was lit up while the wings were not.
“The sound was similar to a bus going uphill but much louder. The aircraft was heading towards Singapore – we are familiar with the direction because our village is bordering the island republic.
“Rubber, metal and plastic parts also fell into the sea around us. We picked them up and saw the Malaysian Airlines logo.
“It took me a while to understand what was happening, then it dawned on me – a plane was falling from the sky,” he recalled when met by The Star in Kampung Ladang, Gelang Patah.
He said there was a massive mid-air explosion before the aircraft made a u-turn and plunged into the ground during the 8.36pm incident on Dec 4, 1977.
The aircraft crashed into a swamp in Kampung Ladang, he said, adding that the jungle area was inaccessible now as the land belongs to a private company.
Now 83, Sulaiman said the sight of broken body parts strewn on the ground and hanging from the trees after the crash remained fresh in his mind.
“After the aeroplane crashed into the jungle, my fishermen friends and I rushed back to shore, hopped on our bicycles and rushed to the crash site.
“We were hoping to offer our help in case there were survivors.
“There were broken body parts everywhere – I will never forget what I saw,” he said.
He added that the authorities, including the police and army, also arrived at the scene and his village remained hectic for at least two months after that.
Witness: The names of the passengers and crew of MH653 at Tanjung Kupang Memorial Park in Taman Kebun Teh in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
Sulaiman said over the years, there had been many versions of what led to the plane crash and how it happened.
“I make it a point to tell my children and grandchildren about that day now and then because I do not want the story to be lost.
“Out of the group of fishermen at sea with me on that night, I am the only one still alive,” claimed Sulaiman, adding that he would often recite a prayer for those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
A total of 93 passengers and seven crew members died in the tragic incident, with the remains of the victims buried at a grave known as the Tanjung Kupang Memorial Park in Taman Kebun Teh, Johor Baru.
He said the incident came about a year after the Sabah Air Nomad N22B 9M-ATZ flight crashed into the Sembulan Sea on approach to land at Kota Kinabalu airport on June 6, 1976.
“The recent news about the declassified crash report brought back many memories of what I saw,” he said.
Eleven people were killed in the 1976 crash, including then-Sabah chief minister Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens, state ministers Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Chong Thien Vun and Datuk Salleh Sulong, assistant minister Datuk Darius Binion and Sabah Finance Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Wahid Peter Andu.
Meanwhile, a check at the Tanjung Kupang Memorial Park showed a bouquet of flowers had been left there.
A passer-by, who only wanted to be known as Siti, 36, said she often saw flowers being left at the memorial stone when she walked by the memorial park daily to go to work.
“I noticed one or two bouquets there once in a while. There used to be more flowers left at the memorial stone after the MH370 and MH17 aircraft incidents in 2014,” said the sales clerk.
