Tanjung Labian : Visiting the Nose of The Dog

Out of so many places that I went to when I went road-tripping all over Sabah for almost 2 weeks last month, there was one place that I really wanted to blog about. It is called Tanjung Labian.

Located on the furthest East of Sabah, which is on the nose end tip of the dog that shapes out the island of Borneo on the map, it is actually the place where the sunshine touches down before all here in Malaysia.

I had always wanted to go there for that fact alone, but most especially when the government decided to build a coal-fired power plant there some time ago.

The project was then scrapped due to pressure from so many people who feared that the plant would cause damages to the environment especially the marine life which is known to exist in abundance in the surrounding sea area.

After going there, I am so glad that the project never took off (for now). Tanjung Labian is such a beautiful place as it is now so I can already imagine all the unnecessary transformation that it would have gone through had the project been implemented.

Located only next to the sprawling palm oil plantation of Felda, Tanjung Labian seems to have gotten its own share of good facilities despite the fact that most of its residents are of questionable citizenship.

In fact, I was told that they can always go to their place of origin in one of the neighboring Filipino islands in the morning and come back to Tajung Labian before nightfall.

Just like that, totally unhindered.

So that seems to explain the influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah although there are so many other explanations which I’d rather not elaborate further since this is more to a travel blog.

The first thing that caught my attention when I got there was the road. It has to be one of the best-maintained roads that I’ve ever seen for a small village like Tanjung Labian. It’s not like I resented it but I just wish they could do the same for other roads in other villages in Sabah whose residents are probably more native and local.

They have school and clinic and a community hall – those things that most other villages in Sabah are still dreaming of having.

Next to the school is a mini police station, complete with their own jetty which is now crumbling down probably due to lack of maintenance or simply underused. I don’t think they even have enough personnel to guard the area, let alone to ward off the immigrants from sneaking into Sabah.

I don’t think they even have the guts to stop them either especially when they know that their lives are ‘on the tip of a bull’s horn’.

I remember how the district police station in Lahad Datu which is much bigger in size and has more number of personnel was attacked by a group of pirates in the broad daylight a few years ago.

It is already so dangerous to live next to them, let alone to live among them.

Good beginning: The only chalet that I saw there

Despite the fact that it is highly inhabited by immigrants from the Philippines, Tanjung Labuan is still a beautiful place to visit.

With its still-pristine coast, balmy breezes from the Sulu Sea and laid-back vibe, the relaxation and the beautiful seaside views that it offers are priceless.

When it comes to tourism, I would say it is a place of great potential, but of course visitors have to be guaranteed of their safety first.

How? You figure it out.