Pulau Labuan

Introducing Pulau Labuan

Eight kilometres off the coast of Sabah, at the mouth of Brunei Bay, lies the small, quiet island of Labuan. It’s had its historical moments, especially during WWII, but is now probably best known as a duty-free stopover on the north–south sea routes. Most travellers just pass through Labuan briefly en route to Brunei.

Labuan was once a coal-mining centre and now has major petroleum gas installations. Politically the 92-sq-km group of islands is a federal territory governed directly from KL. It was originally conceived as an offshore banking haven, though these days the Silver Hair Programme increasingly targets foreign senior citizens looking for a retirement base, a bit like a low-rent Miami.

The sultan of Brunei ceded Labuan to the British in 1846 and it remained part of the Empire for 115 years. The only interruption came during WWII, when the Japanese landed and held the island for three years. Significantly, it was on Labuan that the Japanese forces in North Borneo surrendered at the end of the war, and here that the Japanese officers responsible for the death marches from Sandakan were tried. There’s a war cemetery and peace park to mark these horrific events.

Bandar Labuan is the main town and the transit point for ferries. The population is a mix of Muslim Malays, native groups such as the Kadazan, Dusun, Bugis and Bajau, and large contingents of Chinese, Indians (including a long-standing Sikh presence) and other foreign nationals.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009