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History
Of Labuan - Labuan
had a glorious history under the rule of various
empires. After the demise of the Majapahit
Empire in the 14th century, Labuan came under
the rule of the Brunei Sultanate. The British
then officially declared Labuan a colony of the
British Empire in 1849 and renamed it Victoria.
The British lost its hold over Labuan in 1942
when the Japanese invaded the island. Britain
resumed power over Labuan 3 years later and
subsequently ceded the island to Sabah in 1963
when Sabah joined Malaysia. The administration
of Labuan was handed over to the Federal
Government of Malaysia in 1984. In 1990, Labuan
was declared an International Offshore Financial
Centre (IOFC).
| Location |
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Population |
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Labuan
comprises one main island and six other
smaller ones covering an area of 92 sq.
km. It is located off the coast of East
Malaysia.
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The
population of Labuan is about 75,000.
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| Climate |
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Religion |
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Labuan
is a tropical island with warm climate all
year round. The average temperature is
about 30 degree Celsius.
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Islam
is the official religion of Malaysia.
Nevertheless, freedom of worship is
guaranteed. Places of worship for Muslims,
Christians and Buddhists and Hindus are
readily available.
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| Languages |
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Politics |
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Bahasa
Melayu (Malay) is the national language.
However, English, various Chinese dialects
and Tamil are widely spoken.
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Labuan
is a Federal Territory of Malaysia, a
democratic country based on the
parliamentary system.
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| Time |
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Currency |
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Local
time: GMT +8 hours
Sunrise:
0600 hours
Sunset: 1830
hours
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Ringgit
Malaysia (RM) is the legal medium of
exchange in Malaysia. Traveler's cheques
and foreign currency can be converted to
RM with commercial banks or authorised
money changers. (USD1 = RM3.8)
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