LABUAN: It was another difficult year for Labuan made worse by the scrapping of the colonial-era duty free privileges on cigarettes by the previous Barisan Nasional Federal Government under Umno.
The much-talked about Labuan-Menumbok bridge also hit another roadblock with former Prime Minister Datu Seri Ismail Sabri in a pre-election visit announcing the project’s postponement pending futher deliberations as the party that submitted the bid to undertake the project wanted a huge chuck of reclaimed land for investing in the mega project.
Those who had been following the project since 1997 would know that a similar request was made by a China-based company in partnership with a Malaysian as a condition to build the bridge but was not entertained by the Government.