Kota Kinabalu: Labuan should be positioned as a duty-free haven like Dubai, catering to tourists before they enter other states of Borneo and when they depart on their return flights, said former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh.
He said Dubai’s transformation over the past two decades serves as an excellent case study.
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“Dubai is now among the most visited city globally, boasting the world’s largest duty-free offering.
“Its success is a testament to visionary leadership, strategic planning and relentless efforts, not its natural beauty,” he said in a statement.
Harris said for Labuan to be more economically viable, it needs to privatise the Labuan airport, relocate the military base to facilitate expansion of the runway to accommodate larger aircrafts.
“Build a modern terminal and air cargo complex to enable the island to handle international tourists and air cargo from China, Japan and Korea to be distributed to other parts of Borneo with smaller aircraft.
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“In order to make Labuan attractive, first of all beautify the island with better roads, beaches and green spaces, potentially branding Labuan as a ‘Forest Island’.
“Labuan needs to capitalise on the various past industries it was renowned for, such as gas terminals, methanol production, sponge iron, flour mill and oil and gas supply base.
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“Introduce new industries such as car assembly plants by reclaiming 700 acres of seabed at Rancha Rancha. Vehicles produced here could be exported to Asean and the Middle East.”
Harris said the path to economic prosperity requires informed, strategic decision making - not naivety or ignorance, adding that it is imperative that Malaysia’s leaders adopt a more pragmatic approach to ensure sustainable development.
“The problems we face today is the lack of informed decision-making among those in position of authority. Recent statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zaliha Mustapha reflect a concerning degree of naivety and ignorance.
“For instance, the proposal for the Labuan-Sabah Bridge has long been debated. Numerous studies conducted by universities and consultants - costing millions of ringgits - has repeatedly highlighted its lack of economic feasibility.
“The primary issue is the lack of traffic volume between Sabah and Labuan, which makes the project uneconomical unless pursued through privatisation.
“Several Chinese companies have already submitted proposals seeking approval in principle for another preliminary study.
“It is understood these companies wanted 5,000 acres of land on either end of the bridge for commercial and residential development. Further conditions they wanted is for those foreign buyers of apartments in these areas be granted permanent residency.
“This approach is no different to that of Forest City in Johor, which attracted significant interest and potential,” he said.