Mohd Faizal Malik
LABUAN: The authorities will have to be creative if it wants to revive the development here.
Senior Labuan Aviation Consultant Mohd Faizal Malik said authorities could turn to private driven development for Labuan, since the Federal Government seemed reluctant to fund the effort.
“Economy is stagnant right now, so we urge the Federal Government to act as merely 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,” said Mohd Faizal in a statement today.
He added that through such effort, the island would be less dependent on Federal grants, as its development will be fueled by private domestic and foreign investors who will no doubt develop Labuan to its fullest potential.
Furthermore, he said the strategic location of Labuan will make it easy to attract tourists from China, South Korea and the surrounding neighboring countries.
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 said.
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.
