Labuan’s UTC cuts rental rates 50pc
Published on: Thursday, March 05, 2020
By: Iffah Dilaney
Dr Fary
LABUAN: Labuan Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) traders can now breathe a sigh of relief as Labuan Corporation (LC) will be providing a 50 per cent discount on rent for all UTC premises.Its Chief Executive Officer Dr Fary Akmal Osman said the move was one of the many initiatives by the local authority aimed to improve the livelihood of the locals as the country is facing an economic slump at the moment.ADVERTISEMENT
“The discount will be provided to all 163 traders renting a premise at the Centre, for a period of one year beginning April until March 2021.
“However, the discount will only be imposed on rental rates and not on the maintenance fees.
“Labuan Corporation is committed to maintaining the well-being of the people in times of economic crisis and political tumult..... implementing the discount will also be in line with the plea of the traders there,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
Fary said Labuan Corp will also continue providing rental discounts for the “Perumahan Mesra Rakyat” residential area at Kampung Sungai Bangat until the end of the year.ADVERTISEMENT
“The discount provided was supposed to end in February this year, however we will be extending the discount until December 31 to ease the burden faced by the people,” she said.
Another initiative taken by the local authority would be to appoint contractors (to manage Labuan Corporation projects, etc) accordingly based on the quality of service provided.
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“We will not appoint contractors only based on the lowest price offered, but also taking into account the quality of service provided despite the higher cost,” she added.
Meanwhile, the duty-free island will be hosting at least 30 foreign ambassadors from various countries, beginning March 13 to 15, as part of efforts to promote Labuan globally.
The visit would be a boon for Labuan’s tourism, education and economic promotion activities, said Dr Fary.
“This will be the first time ever Labuan hosting a large-scale programme involving foreign ambassadors and approximately 100 delegates,” she told a press conference at Wisma Perbadanan Labuan here on Wednesday.
She said a number of programmes had been listed throughout the three-day visit and among those issues were on investment, education, sports, culture, tourism as well as science and technology knowledge transfer.
Fary was optimistic the visit will augur well for the close cooperation between foreign countries and Malaysia, especially Labuan being the international financial centre and regional oil and gas hub.
“We are banking on strengthening economic-bilateral ties with the countries represented by the ambassadors as there are a number of areas to be highlighted and briefed during their visit here,” she said.
Fary also said the ambassadors would also be visiting the site of the world’s main producer of methanol, Petronas Methanol Labuan.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“They will also be involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities at the Rusukan Besar Island where they will witness the turtle hatching, and they will also be visiting the Chimney heritage landmark,” she added.
The Malaysian delegates involved in the visit are Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali, Public Service Department (PSD) Director-General Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir, Federal Territories Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Rosida Jaafar and Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob.