VETERAN'S PUB in LABUAN

Yesterday was where me & my friends allowed the evening events to go on Auto-pilot. Auto-pilot event means where you allow circumstances dictate what you are going to do next. We played football after office hours and went for dinner at about 7pm.We ordered Kangkung belacan (Vegetable mixed with shrimp paste), Chicken Tomyam Soup, Mince Pork Omellette with salted fish and Fried Omellete with some more pork. It sounds so good and it looks good.

We went to a place called 126.In Cantonese-English, the place sounds like "Want to 'Sek'". Sek in Cantonese means 'to eat'.126 serves good pork ribs, Japanes Tofu & other chinese style culinary delights. Make sure you visit it if you are in Labuan.

After dinner, we chat about stuff and what to do when 2 of us will go to Filipinas in May this year. Some of the suggestions were good, some were ok but others were plain 'skodeng' stuff. One of us said we should do something that touch all the human senses i.e. Sight, smell, taste, touch, & sound. See the sights in Clark or Manila. Smell the B.O. of Filipinas's whorespitality. Taste the foods. Hear the songs played in 'Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas'. Touch the soft skin of a feminine being. After all those cock-talk, we decided to go to Veteran's Pub.

Veteran's Pub is run by Vincent Pereira. He is a retired Air-Force guy. He served the country when he was with the Royal Malaysian Air-Force . He said he visited a lot of places in the world and somehow landed in Labuan. You can find out the details of his journey when you see him. The pub is a nice cosy little place where everyone there knows your name. Very much like 'Cheers'. 'Cheers' was a TV Sitcom with Kirstie Alley & Ted Danson.

Vince wants to put up more photos of his Air-Force days. The local authority saw the pics on his walls and they want it for free. Typical Malaysian government officers mentality. They want free stuff all the time. This attitude is one of the factors that breeds corruption and incompetence.One of the most sentimental topic of the evening was about Pakcik Rahman.

Pakcik Rahman is the only local WW2 war veteran left in Labuan. He is somehow a mascot of the locals when Labuan has its ANZAC Day in Labuan or the Labuan Landing Celebration every 10 years. Again, the 'free-stuff' mentality crops again when the local authority wants his war medals for FREE. They want the medals to be put up in the local Muzium and his name engraved on some monument. I hope to do an article about Pakcik Rahman's life in the future since the local authority is not serious on the welfare of Pakcik Rahman. Currently, he only recieves RM170 a month since he retired ages ago. If you feel he deserves more for his WW2 services, please call Vincent at 00616-836 3864.

So, we settled down and played pool. Vincent has installed a new carpet on his pool table. It looks new.

Suddenly, one of the customers rang the bar bell. This means all drinks are paid for up to then.He bought us drinks and we ordered a new drink in town, Murphy's Irish Stout. The stout is really nice compared to our local Guinness Stout. The can is massive too. A serving is half a liter and its on RM3.50 per can.

We stayed longer and basically had clean fun teasing the bar tender, Oli. Oli was sporting enough to play pool with us and and she basically kicks everyone's ass.I blame it on the beers and stouts we had.

We had fun and stayed until 1 in the morning.It was one of those days.

About Labuan Island

(Right mouse click on the picture and open in new window to see a larger & clearer image)

One of my readers suggested I blog more about Labuan. It is a good idea.For a start the above shows the island from a satelite view. Labuan is a huge island. Basically, it takes 30 minutes to drive from one tip to the other tip of the island (i.e. Manikar Beach to Universiti Malaysia Sabah)

History
Labuan was under the rule of various empires from the Majapahit Empire in the 14th century to the Brunei Sultanate. The Island was given to the British by the Brunei Sultanate in 1846. The British then declared Labuan a colony of the British Empire in 1849 and renamed it Victoria.

The British lost Labuan in 1942 when the Japanese Army occupied the island.
The Island was renamed Maeda Island during the Japanese rule. The British resumed control of the island after World War 2 until 1963 when Labuan joined Malaysia and became a part of Sabah.

The Island became a Federal Territory of Malaysia in 1984. Labuan was declared an International Offshore Financial Centre in 1990. The population of Labuan is about 80,000 now.

Labuan Attractions.
Labuan is a great destination for those divers who dares to visit the Marine Park and its 4 main ship wrecks (Blue water wreck, Cement Wreck, American Wreck & Australian Wreck)
(http://www.impressions.com.my/labuanmain/marine_park.htm)(http://www.asiadivesite.com/malaysia-dive-sites/labuan/)

More detail info on Labuan is one this site:http://www.labuantourism.com.my/Home/Home.htm

Islands

The Kuraman Island is a good place for a beach retreat. I have been there a few times. The Island looks like a stingray.

The Papan Island (Pulau Papan) is a small island. Neverbeen there. The Da'at Island (Pulau Daat) is inhabited by some locals but whether they are Malaysian is for the local authority to find out.

Labuanites use the Labuan Ferry to Menumbok Sabah if they choose to go there by land. The ferry takes 2 hours to reach the other side and there are about 4 trips per day.

Do make your way to Labuan and check out the Calendar of events at this site:

http://www.labuantourism.com.my/calender2006/calendermain.htm

Hotel Labuan Sdn Bhd

Hotel Labuan Sdn Bhd - Labuan's Enigmatic Hotel

This hotel was empty and abandon since the company that ran the business has a dispute with the Labuan's municipal council. The case was reported in Hotel Labuan Sdn Bhd v Lembaga Pembangunan Labuan [1998] MLJU 65.The official reason it was closed is because the hotel was claimed not fit to be occupied.

Any law student can get the facts of the case and the outcome of it from the case report.

However, the public always wonder what will the local authority do about this hotel. The locals say that this hotel attracted a lot of patrons & guest way back in the early 90s because it offers meals & services that were cheaper than other hotels in Labuan. Some say it is a result of the volatile political dispute since the hotel was connected with a prominent political figure of Sabah who oppossed the Federal Government back then. So, if you are in Labuan, don't forget to take pictures of Labuan's own enigmatic hotel, Hotel Labuan.

I am not sure if the contacts below still works.

Hotel Labuan Sdn Bhd

Jalan Merdeka, P. O . Box 354,

87007 Federal Territory Labuan

Tel: 087-412502 Fax: 087-415355.

FUTSAL FEVER IN LABUAN

The futsal fever is in Labuan. Why? Because I am playing it. My team plays regularly on Wednesday evening. It is a game played differently from conventional football ala EPL, Liga Espanol, World Cup 2006.

Currently the world champion is Spain. Futsal's development can be accessed at UEFA's website : http://www.uefa.com/competitions/futsal/news/index.html

In Labuan, FUTSAL is only played at a Tennis Court run by Labuan Corporation. The fee is RM30 per hour and we usually play 2 hours (1930 hours until 2130 hours).

You can contact us for a game of FUTSAL in Labuan. Our team's contact person is Sazali Suzin or Henry Morris at 006087 453858, Fax: 006087 453616.

Morris Minor in Labuan

I saw this car parked behind the office and decided to take its photo. The Car looks good. The interior is white and the dashboard is pretty.

(Excerp from Wikipedia)

The Morris Motor Company was a former British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations the Morris name remained as a marque (vehicle brand).

HistoryMorris was started in 1913 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris (1877-1963) turned his attention to car manufacturing. A factory was opened in Oxford and the company's first car the "Bullnose" Oxford was introduced.

During the 1920s Morris established a reputation for producing high quality cars. In 1924 Morris overtook Ford to become Britain's biggest car manufacturer, holding a 51% share of the home market. Also in 1924 the head of the Morris sales agency in Oxford, Cecil Kimber, started building sporting versions of Morris cars called MG after the agency Morris Garages.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the company produced mainly simple but reliable family cars. The most famous Morris car was the Morris Minor introduced in 1948 reusing a name from 1928. The Morris Oxford of 1948 was the basis for the design of India's famous state-produced Ambassador automobile.

In the early 1950s Morris merged with its old rival Austin to form the British Motor Corporation. In 1968, the Morris brand became part of British Leyland.

The Morris brand name was used until the early 1980s on cars such as the Morris Marina. The facelifted Marina, the Morris Ital was the last Morris-badged passenger car until its demise in 1984. (The last Morris was a van based on the Austin Metro.) The Morris assembly plant in Cowley was turned over in the early 1980s for the production of Austin and Rover badged vehicles.

The rights to the Morris badge is currently owned by MG Rover, who have inherited the remains of and BMC and BL. The Cowley assembly plant is now owned by BMW, who use it to assemble the New MINI. With MG Rover currently in receivership, it is not clear who will buy the Morris badge.