Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990, as well as being an offshore support hub for deepwater oil and gas activities in the region. It is also a tourist destination for people travelling through Sabah, nearby Bruneians, and scuba divers. The name Labuan derives from the Malay word , which means 'harbour'.
History
For three centuries from the 15th century, the north and west coast of Borneo including the island of Labuan was part of the Sultanate of Brunei. In 1775, Labuan was temporarily occupied by the British East India Company after the failure of the company's station at Balambangan Island. The Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin I tried to secure the British East India Company's support against the Sulu raiders by offering Labuan as an alternative to Balambangan but, instead the company made a second but failed attempt to set up a station on Balambangan. The Sultan's subsequent reoffering of Labuan to the company did not result in the establishment of a permanent British settlement on the island either.B.A. Hussainmiya, Brunei Revival of 1906 A Popular History, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Brunei, 2006, p.xi
British policy changed in the 19th century, when Labuan started to attract British interest again. Captain Rodney Mundy acquired the island for Britain through the Treaty of Labuan with the Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin II on 18 December 1846. Mundy took Pengiran Mumin to witness the island's accession to the British Crown on 24 December 1846. Some sources state that during the signing of the treaty, the Sultan had been threatened by a British navy warship ready to fire on the Sultan's palace if he refused to sign the treaty while another source says the island was ceded to Britain as a reward for assistance in combating pirates.
The main reason why the British acquired the island was to establish a naval station to protect their commercial interest in the region and to suppress piracy in the South China Sea. The British also believed the island could be the next Singapore. Following the Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship in 1847, which distilled the aforementioned events into a single document - Labuan was ceded to the British in perpetuity. The island became a Crown Colony in 1848 with James Brooke appointed as the first governor and commander-in-chief, with William Napier as his lieutenant-governor. In 1849, the Eastern Archipelago Company became the first of several British companies to try to exploit Labuan coal deposits. The company was formed to exploit coal deposits on the island and adjacent coast of Borneo but soon became involved in a dispute with James Brooke. Not proving itself a great commercial or strategic asset, administration of Labuan was handed to the British North Borneo Company in 1890. The North Borneo Company did not prove that effective a manager either, and in 1904 Malcolm Stewart Hannibal McArthur even proposed handing the island back to Brunei. In 1894, a submarine communications cable was built by the British to link the island's communications with North Borneo, Singapore and Hong Kong for the first time. By 30 October 1906, the British Government proposed to extend the boundaries of the Straits Settlements to include Labuan. The proposal took effect from 1 January 1907.
In World War II, Labuan was occupied by Japan from 3 January 1942 until June 1945 and garrisoned by units of the Japanese 37th Army, which controlled Northern Borneo. The island served as the administrative centre for the Japanese forces. During the occupation, the Japanese Government changed the island name to Maida Island ( [Maeda-shima]) on 9 December 1942 after Marquis Toshinari Maeda, as a remembrance to the first Japanese commander in northern Borneo. Maeda was killed in an air crash at Bintulu, Sarawak when en route to the island to open the airfield there. As the Allied counter-attack came closer, the Japanese also developed Labuan and Brunei Bay as a naval base.
The liberation of Borneo by the Allied forces began on 10 June 1945 when the Australian Army under the command of Australian Major General George Wootten launched an attack under the codename of Operation Oboe Six. Labuan became the main objective for the Allied forces to repossess. Soon, the 9th Division of the Australian Army launched the attack with support from airstrikes and sea bombardments until the capture of the Labuan airstrip. Most of the Labuan island area including the main town of Victoria was under the control of Allied forces within four days of the landing on 10 June. On 9 September 1945, the Japanese Lieutenant General Masao Baba officially surrendered at a place now known as Surrender Point near the Layang-layang beach which he had been brought to the 9th Division headquarters on the island to sign the surrender document in front of the Australian 9th Division Army Commander George Wootten.
The name of Labuan was later restored by the British and the island was administered under the British Military Administration together with the rest of the Straits Settlements. Labuan then on 15 July 1946 joined the North Borneo Crown Colony, which in turn became the state of Sabah and Malaysia in 1963. In 1984, the Government of Sabah ceded Labuan to the federal government and later was admitted as a federal territory. This was done so that it could become an offshore financial centre. It was declared an international offshore financial centre and free trade zone in 1990.
Geography
Labuan's area comprises the main island (Labuan Island – ) and six other smaller islands, Burung, Daat, Kuraman, Big Rusukan, Small Rusukan and Papan island with a total area of . The islands lie off the coast of Borneo, adjacent to the Malaysian state of Sabah and to the north of Brunei Darussalam, on the northern edge of Brunei Bay facing the South China Sea. Labuan Island is mainly flat and undulating; its highest point is Bukit Kubong at above sea level. Over 70% of the island is still covered with vegetation. The main town area of Victoria is located in a position facing Brunei Bay.
Islands Labuan Island Daat Island Papan Island Burung Island Kuraman Island Big Rusukan Island (Pulau Rusukan Besar) Small Rusukan Island (Pulau Rusukan Kecil)
Climate Labuan has a tropical rainforest climate with no dry season, with February and March being drier. Over the course of a year, the temperature typically varies from and is rarely below or above . The warm season lasts from 1 April to 13 June with an average daily high temperature above . The hottest day of the year is 29 April, with an average high of and low of . The cold season lasts from 7 January to 17 February with an average daily high temperature below . The coldest day of the year is 8 September, with an average low of and high of . The weather station for Labuan is located at Labuan Airport.
Thunderstorms are the most severe precipitation observed in Labuan during 60% of those days with precipitation. They are most likely around October, when they occur very frequently. Meanwhile, the relative humidity for Labuan typically ranges from 63% (mildly humid) to 96% (very humid) over the course of the year, rarely dropping below 53% and reaching as high as 100% (extremely humid).
Government Labuan is one of the Malaysian federal government territories. The island is administered by the federal government through the Department of Federal Territories, a department under the Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Labuan Corporation is the municipal government for the island and is headed by a chairman who is responsible for the development and administration of the island. Labuan has one representative in each of the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament. Typically, the current member of the parliament of Labuan will be appointed to become chairman of Labuan Corporation.
The island is represented in the lower house of parliament by MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman of PN (opposition) and in the upper house by Mohd Husni bin Mohamad Salleh. Below is the list of administrators of Labuan Corporation from 2001 to the current date:
Name Term begins Term ends Othman Mohd Rijal 2001 2003 Suhaili Abdul Rahman 2003 2008 Ahmad Phesal Talib 2008 2011 Yussof Mahal 2011 2013 Rozman Haji Isli 2013 2018 Amir Hussein 2019 2021 Bashir Alias 2021 2023 Anifah Aman 2023 2025 Mohd Husni bin Mohamad Salleh 2025 Present
Administrative subdivision The Federal Territory is administratively subdivided into the capital Bandar Victoria and 27 kampung (administrative villages),JADUAL PELAKSANAAN PROGRAM KESEDARAN KITAR SEMULA BAGI KAMPUNG-KAMPUNG DI W.P. LABUAN UNTUK TAHUN 2011 E-Mail of the Territory Administration to Wikipedia (11 June 2012) and which are ruled by appointed Ketua Kampung (headmen):
Bukit Kalam Durian Tunjung Tanjung Aru Pohon Batu Batu Arang Patau-Patau 2 Belukut Sungai Keling Sungai Bedaun / Sungai Sembilang Layang-Layangan Sungai Labu Pantai Gersik / Saguking / Jawa / Parit Sungai Buton Kilan / Kilan Pulau Akar Lajau Rancha-Rancha Nagalang / Kerupang Bebuloh Sungai Lada Lubok Temiang Sungai Bangat Sungai Miri / Pagar Patau-Patau 1 Batu Manikar Bukit Kuda Ganggarak / Merinding
Security Security is the responsibility of the federal government, with naval patrol vessels, a garrison, and an air detachment based on the island. The vigilance of the local Coast Guard, Customs and Excise and Marine Police contribute to the maintenance of Labuan's reputation and status as an international offshore financial centre and free trade zone.
Demographics Population and religion
According to Malaysia's Department of Statistics, Labuan's population was 86,908 at the 2010 Census and 95,120 at the 2020 Census.Dept. of Statistics Malaysia (web) The ethnic composition in 2020 in Labuan was: Kedayan and Bruneian Malay (34,068), Kadazan-Dusun including/excluding Rungus (9,408), Bajau (6,866), Murut (1265), Chinese (9,843), Indians (891), Lundayeh and other ethnic groups (21,947), and non-Malaysian citizens (10,832). The majority of Chinese people in Labuan are from the Hokkien dialect group (but has been since decreasing due to migration to the Peninsula as well as overseas); however, there are also many Hakkas, most of whom are migrants or descendants of migrants from mainland Sabah as well as local-born Hakkas, whom are settled for more than 2 to 3 generations in the island dating as long as the colonial period, in which they came as stopover migrants or traders before embarking to the mainland (even when it was still an only island offshore municipality within Sabah state jurisdiction from 1963 to 1984) as well as a negligible minority of Fuzhounese from neighbouring Sarawak, mostly working as government staff and those posted in the petroleum and gas offshore industries and to a lesser extent a large minority of Dayaks also from Sarawak who are resident here and their local-born descendants whom are mostly ethnically Iban with pockets of Bidayuh and Orang Ulu residents.
Census the population of Labuan is 76.0% Muslim, 12.4% Christian, 9.0% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 2.1% follower of other religions, and 0.1% non-religious.
+ Labuan Ethnic Composition (2010)Ethnic groupsEthnicsTotalBumiputeraKadayan-Brunei34,068Kadazan-Dusun (including/excluding Rungus)9,408Bajau6,866Murut1,265Lun Bawang/Lundayeh and Other Bumiputeras (mostly Dayaks from Sarawak)21,064Non-BumiputerasChinese9,843Indian891Others883Non-citizen10,832Total95,120
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