The A to Z of Malaysia by Ooi Keat Gin

Author:Ooi Keat Gin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Published: 2009-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

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LABUAN. Strategically commanding Brunei Bay, the 92-square-kilometer island of Labuan has a population of 83,500 (2005 est.). Its annexation in 1847 by the British was intended to be the springboard for establishing hegemony over Borneo’s northwestern coast. The acquisition of Labuan was first mooted by (Sir) James Brooke, who became White Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, to halt piratical activities and to provide a naval base against increasing French and American interests in the South China Sea. Subsequently, the Anglo–Brunei Treaty of 1847 secured the cession of Labuan to Great Britain. Although Labuan failed as a naval base, a coaling station, or as a “second Singapore,” it remained a Crown colony until 1888 when it became a part of British North Borneo administered by the British North Borneo Chartered Company. Ironically, Labuan became prominent during the Pacific War (1941–1945) serving as the administrative center for the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), Australian Imperial Forces (AIF), and Australian and British Military Administration (BMA) for Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo (Sabah). Labuan became part of Malaysia in 1963 and was made a federal territory in 1984. Six years later, it was accorded the status of an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC). Meanwhile, it was declared a free port to boost its entrepôt status. Again, Labuan was disappointing and never took off as an attractive port of call or an IOFC. In 1997, the Labuan Development Authority launched a development plan to reinvent Labuan and the fruits remain to be seen.

LANGKASUKA. Drawing from various sources (5th century C.E. to 15th century C.E.), the kingdom of Langkasuka was likely located on the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in present-day Patani in southern Thailand. Langkasuka was first mentioned in the 5th century C.E. in the Liang shu or “History of the Liang Dynasty” in China (502–556 C.E.) in reference to Lang-ya-hsiu, which had sent an embassy to China in 515 C.E. The kingdom had a king who rode on an elephant, a walled city, and was abundant in camphor and aloeswood (Aquilaria), and the people only wore a sarong (pareo). In the 7th century, Langkasuka was identified with Lang-ya-hsü as reported by a Chinese embassy to Southeast Asia in 608 C.E. I-Ching, the Buddhist pilgrim, wrote of Lang-chia-shu in the late 7th century, suggesting its location in the northern coast of the Malay Peninsula. The Chiu T’ang shu, “Old Annals of the Tang Dynasty” (618–907 C.E.), mentioned Lang-ya-hsiu being adjacent or close to P’an P’an, a kingdom in the area of contemporary Surat Thani in southern Thailand. When in the 11th century the Colas of southern India raided the Malay Peninsula, Ilangashoka (Langkasuka?) was listed among the conquered lands. Marco Polo’s Lochac might be Langkasuka. Arab sources of the 15th century cited Langashuka, located south of present-day Songkhla. A Ming dynasty (1368–1644) map had a Lang-hsi-chia kingdom placed between modern Songkhla and Patani. Nâgarakertâgama, the Javanese epic poem, placed Leng-kasuka to the north of contemporary Saiburi in the vicinity of Patani. Langkasuka was one of the locations where foreign traders dealt with rice transactions.

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