style="text-transform: uppercase;">Labuan: Yayasan Pendidkan Labuan (YPL) – set up to speed up the prosperity of locals through increased opportunities in high paid jobs in the oil and gas sector in particular and businesses – will be headed by Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli (pic), who is also the Labuan Corporation (LC) Chairman, will be an Executive Council member in YPL. The foundation will have seven more members, namely Senator Datuk Haji Yunus Kurus, Datuk Bashir Alias (Umno deputy chairman and developer), Mohd Raffi Alli Hassan (Umno Youth chief and political secretary to Adnan), Datuk Harris Anuar Tan (CEO of Asian Supply Base and Umno Treasurer).

The other three members are CEO of Labuan Corporation (LC) Dato Mohd Nadzri Osman, Education Director Misirine Radin and the Director of University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Labuan International Campus.

"YPL has made a historic and good start when the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak agreed to have the foundation launched during his visit here and gave his support by increasing the initial aid from RM1 million to RM2 million."

Rozman said he spoke to the Prime Minister on YPL at the airport. "The Prime Minister without hesitation increased the amount as YPL was seen as significant in empowering locals with knowledge and their economy so that they would not be left out of the oil and gas pie."

He noted that at present most of the luxury vehicles, cars and superbikes were owned by those from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula and not locals. YPL's task is to uplift the standard of locals through providing scholarships for higher studies.

"To put in a nutshell, YPL belongs to every local resident," said Rozman.

YPL is ready for "business" its next step would be execute the "taking over" of the operations and assets of LDA Holdings (the business arm of LC). He said LC had agreed to divest LDA Holdings and concentrate on its core business of town upkeep.

He added that the documents were being prepared for payments to LC for 'surrendering" its assets.

Presently LDA Holdings operate the parking coupons, Labuan International Ferry Terminal, Labuan Marina and said to have prime 9-acre land at Rancha Rancha reportedly valued at RM20 million.

LDA Holdings which had been operating for years had been said to be having assets generating RM600,000 annualy.

It is understood that with the formation of YPL its most valuable asset could be the exclusive right for land reclamation.

Some 5,000 acres need to be reclaimed to meet increasing demand by the commercial, industrial and residential sectors.

A number of investors had shown interest in reclamation with the offer of free land reclamation in return for alienated land. YPL holds the exclusive right and makes even 20 per cent profit from such deals it would be earning millions of ringgit and this would be the "cash cow" of YPL.

Rozman said whatever was earned by YPL would be shared by locals. He said Labuan needed a strong foundation to develop the island as not all developments could be taken by the private sector alone.