Labuan Lures Local Businessmen To invest
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - Bruneians are once again invited to make investments in Labuan, visit the island to meet their relatives or shop there for quality products at reasonable prices.

Dato Hj Suhaili Hj Abd Rahman, Labuan Member of Parliament and the Chairman of Labuan Corporation, said locals should feel confident to invest in the island and he assured prospective investors that they will not be facing bureaucracy, red tape or need to go through brokers.

"All they need to do is come to the relevant authority, Labuan Corporation, to develop the island," he recently said in the lobby of Gadong Centrepoint Hotel before his return to Labuan.

He added that being a resident of Labuan with many relatives in Brunei, he always had a soft heart for the Sultanate as he considered himself a Bruneian, too.

"We built the new RM30 million ferry terminal to cater mainly for locals to make them happy and feel comfortable in their trip to the island.

"I will also tell most of the ferry operators to renovate their facilities so as to make Bruneian passengers more comfortable," he said, adding that only Sri Anna offers a comfortable journey between Labuan and Brunei.

He also revealed that Labuan will have a new town called Bandar Baru Kiamsam which is inter-connected by tramps.

"There will be houses, resorts, golf courses, shopping centres and many more. The new town will also have tramp services to facilitate travel with one also connecting it to Manikar Resort. In fact we plan to build tramps all over Labuan," he said.

Dato Hj Suhaili and his delegation were in the country for talks with Brunei Tourism on the proposed new events for the Labuan International Sea Challenge 2005 that involved the Sultanate.

He said that the cross-sea swimming, jetski and kayak competitions will be flagged off on the seas behind Empire Hotel & Country Club, Jerudong and would end in Labuan.

"Of course, before the races, participants can take part in various harbour events in Brunei Darussalam.

This will be good for Brunei Tourism as previous LISC participants came from as far as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, West Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Sarawak and Sabah," he added.

He is also inviting Bruneians to attend the Labuan Street Carnival scheduled for August 7 and 8 and August 21 and 22. The street Jalan OKK Awang Besar will be closed from 6.30 pm to 1 or 2 am and there will be street performances, bazaars, stalls and shops to cater for the public.

"This is my idea to commemorate the Malaysian Independence Day, which falls on August 31," he concluded. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News