‘Have friendly investment policies for Labuan’
Published on: Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Mohd Faizal said through such effort, the island would be less dependent on Federal grants, as its development will be fuelled by private domestic and foreign investors who will no doubt develop Labuan to its fullest potential.
LABUAN: Authorities could turn to private driven development for Labuan since the Federal Government seems reluctant to fund the effort, said Senior Labuan Aviation Consultant Mohd Faizal Malik.In making the call, he said, authorities here will have to be creative if it wants to revive development here.
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“Economy is stagnant right now, so we urge the Federal Government to act as facilitator by formulating investment friendly policies to attract both domestic and foreign investors to develop the island into an international theme park cum entertainment hub, which would complement its current status as an international offshore centre and duty-free island.
“If that materialises, Labuan can be the Macau of South East Asia or even Singapore’s Sentosa Island,” he said.
Mohd Faizal added that through such effort, the island would be less dependent on Federal grants, as its development will be fuelled by private domestic and foreign investors who will no doubt develop Labuan to its fullest potential.
“Furthermore, the strategic location of Labuan will make it easy to attract tourists from China, South Korea and the surrounding neighbouring countries.
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“Consequently, by having such blueprint for Labuan development, even the building of the illusive Labuan bridge can be a private-driven initiative, once the government provide the right policy to facilitate the proposal.
“This was how the road to the hilltop Genting Resort was built by its founder Lim Goh Tong in the 1960s,” he added.
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He stressed that the multiplier effect on the economy by having such development will revive Labuan’s current stagnant economy and provide thousands of employment opportunities to the locals and support the current declining local businesses.
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