KOTA KINABALU: The debate over appointments to key leadership positions in Labuan should move beyond personalities and focus on the territory’s deeper structural lack of political influence, said Labuan Chamber of Commerce (LCC) President Daniel Doughty.
Referring to a Daily Express report “Is Labuan being punished?” he said positions such as the Labuan Senator, Chairman of the Labuan Port Authority and heads of federal agencies should be based on merit, competence, integrity and a clear understanding of the island’s economic and social realities.
“Labuan deserves the best leadership available, regardless of political affiliation or whether the individual comes from here, Sabah or Peninsular Malaysia.
However, merit must not become a convenient excuse to repeatedly overlook qualified Labuan residents. The Federal government should actively develop and prioritise capable local talent for senior leadership positions,” he said in a statement.
Doughty said merit and local representation should not be treated as opposing principles, as competent local leaders could offer valuable knowledge of Labuan’s communities, business environment, infrastructure limitations and regional relationships.
He said the vacancy of a Senate seat or a federal chairmanship was only a symptom of a much larger problem confronting the island.
“The real issue is structural. Labuan is a Federal Territory located far from Putrajaya, yet it has only one elected MP and limited political bargaining power.
Unlike a state, Labuan has no elected state government, no state legislative assembly and no independent development machinery capable of consistently defending its interests,” he said.
He said Labuan was administratively governed from Putrajaya but remained economically, socially and geographically dependent on Sabah.
It had left the territory caught between the federal administrative system and the wider Borneo economy, without sufficient influence in either, he added.
He said the island’s limited electoral weight had contributed to a widespread perception among residents that Labuan was being treated as a secondary concern.
“The uncomfortable truth is not necessarily that every federal minister is hostile towards Labuan. The problem is that Labuan does not have enough political weight to demand sustained attention when competing against larger states and territories,” he stressed.
He reiterated that replacing one political appointee with another would not address the underlying imbalance.
He called for a long-term economic direction that could survive changes in ministers, political parties and individual office holders.
He said the performance of peninsula-based political parties in the island should be assessed honestly, as the territory continued to face weak connectivity, reduced commercial confidence, business closures, slow investment momentum and uncertainty over its economic identity.