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Labuan
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Labuan is the main island of the Malaysian Federal Territory of Labuan. Labuan is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as a tourist destination for nearby Bruneians and scuba divers. The name Labuan derives from the Malay word labuhan meaning anchorage.
Federal Territory of Labuan comprises Labuan Island (75 km²) and six other smaller islands (Pulau Burung, Pulau Daat, Pulau Kuraman, Pulau Papan, Pulau Rusukan Kecil, and Pulau Rusukan Besar), which have a combined total area of 92 km².
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Encyclopedia
Labuan is the main island of the Malaysian Federal Territory of Labuan. Labuan is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as a tourist destination for nearby Bruneians and scuba divers. The name Labuan derives from the Malay word labuhan meaning anchorage.
Geography
The Federal Territory of Labuan comprises Labuan Island (75 km²) and six other smaller islands (Pulau Burung, Pulau Daat, Pulau Kuraman, Pulau Papan, Pulau Rusukan Kecil, and Pulau Rusukan Besar), which have a combined total area of 92 km². The islands lie 8 km off the coast of Borneo, adjacent to the Malaysian state of Sabah and the independent state of Brunei Darussalam, on the northern edge of Brunei Bay facing the South China Sea. Labuan Island is mainly flat and undulating and the highest point is only 85 metres. Over 70% of the island is still covered with vegetation. Bandar Labuan, formerly known as Victoria, is the major town and port and faces Brunei Bay.
History
Labuan was a part of the Brunei Sultanate.
In 1840 the British used the previously-uninhabited island as a base for operations against piracy and later as a station for the submarine cable between Singapore and Hong Kong. The Sultan of Brunei ceded Labuan to Britain in 1846, and the island became a Crown Colony in 1848. It was made a part of North Borneo on 1 January 1890, then on 30 October 1906 joined to the Straits Settlements. The first White Rajah of Sarawak, James Brooke was appointed commander-in-chief and Governor of the new territory.
During World War II, Labuan was occupied by Japan from December 1941 to June 1945 and governed as part of the Northern Borneo military unit by the Japanese 37th Army. Labuan was renamed Maida Island (Pulau Maida, ??? [Maeda-shima]) after Marquis Toshinari Maeda, the first commander of Japanese forces in northern Borneo. The island was retaken by Australian forces in Operation Oboe Six, in June 1945. Labuan assumed its former name and was under British military administration (along with the rest of the Straits Settlements), then joined to British North Borneo, on 15 July 1946, which in turn became a part of Malaysia as the state of Sabah in 1963.
In 1984, Labuan was ceded by Sabah to the federal government and made a federal territory. In 1990, it was declared an international offshore financial centre and free trade zone.
The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) was created as an offshore financial hub on October 1990 and was operating under the name of Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC). At the time it was established to strengthen the contribution of financial services to the Gross National Products (GNP) of Malaysia as well as to develop the island and its surrounding vicinity. The jurisdiction, under the robust but progressive regulatory body called Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority or LOFSA, offers benefits such as 3% tax on net audited results or a flat rate of Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 20,000 to trading companies; low operational costs; liberal exchange controls; and a host of other advantages including readily available, experienced and professional service providers.
Labuan IBFC is Malaysia’s only offshore centre, strategically located on Labuan island off the north west coast of Sabah which is itself part of the Borneo land mass. Since its inception, the jurisdiction has developed by leaps and bounds such that today, it is home to more than 6,500 offshore companies and more than 300 licenced financial institutions including world leading banks. Supported by a well developed infrastructure that includes modern amenities as well as a full range of service providers for the business community, Labuan IBFC is embarking on an aggressive growth strategy to become the premier international business and financial centre in the Asia Pacific region.
There are five core areas that Labuan IBFC intends to focus on, levaraging on its key strengths. These five are offshore holding companies, captive insurance, Shariah-compliant Islamic Finance structures, public and private funds and wealth management. Given the burgeoning interest around the world in Islamic finance, Labuan IBFC is well placed to enhance its lead as an Islamic financial hub. Labuan IBFC’s position is further enhanced by the formation of the Malaysian International Islamic Finance Centre initiative that was launched in August 2006.
The Labuan Financial Exchange or LFX was officially launched on 23 November 2000 and offers a global exchange with listing and trading facilities for a wide range of financial and non financial products.
Politics
Defence
Defence is the responsibility of the federal government, with naval patrol vessels, a garrison and an air detachment based on the island. The local Police Force maintains everyday law and order. The Coast Guard and Customs and Excise have a relatively strong presence on Labuan, due to the nature of its economic status as a Federal Territory, international offshore financial centre and free trade zone.
Population
The ethnic composition in 2000 in Labuan was: Malay/Bumiputra mainly Brunei Malay and Kedayan(60,549 or 77.92%), Ethnic Chinese (12,019 or 15.47%), Ethnic Indian (989 or 1.28%), Other (4,143 or 5.33%).
Attractions and places of interest
There are several attractions and places of interest on Labuan. The military cemetery contains various war graves and memorials to the fallen of World War II. This includes British, Australian, Indian, Sarawakian, Bruneian, North Borneo and Empire troops. There is also a memorial celebrating the surrender of the Japanese to the Australian Forces in 1945. There are also remnants of Labuan's history as a Royal Navy Coaling station, including 'the chimney', a well known local landmark. There is a Labuan Maritime Museum.
Labuan is also the base for diving on four popular wreck dives: the Cement wreck, the American wreck, the Australian wreck and the Blue Water wreck.
Labuan has many schools. However, it has only one international school, Labuan International School. .Other places of interest to visit such as Labuan International Sea Sport Complex at Jalan Tg. Purun.Newly proposed places is the Marina centre and Labuan Square project which is expected to be completed in next two years from 2008.
Labuan also own institution of higher education which is Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus, branch of Universiti Malaysia Sabah in Sepanggar Bay, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Postage stamps and postal history
A post office was operating in Labuan by 1864, and used a circular date stamp as postmark. The postage stamps of India and Hong Kong were used on some mail, but they were probably carried there by individuals, instead of being on sale in Labuan. Mail was routed through Singapore. From 1867 Labuan officially used the postage stamps of the Straits Settlements, then issued its own beginning in May 1879.
The first stamps of Labuan depict the usual profile of Queen Victoria, but are unusual for being inscribed in Arabic and Chinese scripts in addition to "LABUAN POSTAGE". Perennial shortages necessitated a variety of surcharges in between the several reprints and color changes of the 1880s. The original stamps were engraved, but the last of the design, in April 1894, were done by lithography.
Beginning in May 1894, the designs of North Borneo were printed in different colors, with "LABUAN" either engraved into the vignette or overprinted. On 24 September 1896, the 50th anniversary of the cession was marked by overprinting "1846 / JUBILEE / 1896" on the overprinted North Borneo designs. Additional overprints appeared through the 1890s. In 1899 many types were surcharged with a value of 4 cents.
A last Labuan-only design came out in 1902, depicting a crown and inscribed "LABUAN COLONY". After the incorporation into the Straits Settlements in 1906, Labuan ceased issuing its own stamps, although they remained valid for some time. Many of the remainders were cancelled to order for sale to collectors, and are now worth only pennies; genuine postal uses are worth much more.
Reading
- The history of Labuan Island (Victoria Island) (1996) Stephen R. Evans, Abdul Rahman Zainal and Rod Wong Khet Ngee. Singapore: Calendar Print
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