Peter Mak
LABUAN: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Labuan reiterated its call for Labuan to be granted autonomy in managing its economy and developed as a Special Development Zone (SDZ).
PBS Vice President cum Labuan Division Chief Datuk Peter Mak said being located in a strategic geographical location and endowed with a natural conducive environment, Labuan will be able to regain its past successes given the right development and administrative strategies, initiatives and policies.
He said autonomy in governance, including on fiscal matters, will enable the making of better decisions that will benefit the island more by having meaningful participation of Labuan residents in the decision-making process.
“Similarly, autonomy in administering Labuan will alleviate the unhappiness expressed by the people of Labuan over the seeming lack of development, with the construction of the ‘elusive’ proposed Labuan-Menumbok bridge being a major source of frustration, even anger, from among the people who deem it a basic necessity and not a privilege,” he said in a statement today.
Mak said with the ongoing disappointments and frustrations, it is not surprising that there are repeated calls to return Labuan to Sabah.
“The success, or otherwise, of Labuan as envisioned when it was handed over to Federal administration is crucial as it serves as a ‘report card’ on whether the decision to turn Labuan into a Federal Territory made 40 years ago was a correct one.”
