Labuan - 800 homes destroyed in blaze

LABUAN: More than 3,000 people were made homeless when a fire broke out at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commune of Kampung Muslim yesterday.

The fire, which started at 11.30am, ravaged almost 800 homes and sent families and children into temporary shelters at the Community Hall of the Labuan Corporation.

It is the second time that the UNHCR commune, which is being occupied by locals and Filipinos who are holding the IMM13 document or working pass, had been razed since 1996.

The Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 11.40 am and only managed to put out the blaze about 2 pm. State Fire and Rescue Operations Officer Hasnah Rashid said 130 firefighters from three stations and three engines were involved in bringing the blaze under control.

"Almost 80 per cent of the houses there were completely destroyed. There was no report of casualties in the massive fire," he said.
A 35-year-old villager, Abidin Julahi, told Bernama that he was with his family when the fire broke out.

"It was 11.30am, when I heard a loud scream outside my house, and when I looked up, the fire had spread close to my house.

"There was nothing I could do except to save our belongings and children and run to safer ground. We estimate almost 800 houses in four blocks were already burnt down by then," Abidin said.

Another victim, Aminah, 65, said she was grateful to God for saving her and her family. "It does not matter that our belongings were lost in the fire. I am just grateful my family is safe," she said.

Meanwhile, Labuan member of parliament Datuk Yussof Mahal urged government department and agencies to render assistance to the fire victims.

"This is on humanitarian grounds. We hope the community would come forward to contribute generously. At this moment, my parliamentary officers are assisting them and gathering all the necessary information.

"We need to get a list of the victims who require immediate assistance. I'll be returning to Labuan today and had to postpone my thesis discussion with a UTM professor," said Yussof, who is currently in University Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Johor for his Master's degree. -- Bernama

Source: NST

Labuan Botanical Garden

Botanical Gardens About five minutes from Labuan town, is the Botanical Gardens which was previously the grounds of the Government House, locally Known as 'Bumbung 12'. Built in 1852, the house was a long and low structure with an interesting roof design. The Botanical Gardens is a recreational park with old trees and beautiful landscaping

It was believed that Hugh Low, the Colonial Secretary for many years did much of the early work on the Garden. Many of the older trees were planted by him. The house was completely destroyed during the War.

In the grounds can be found two graveyards that are believed to be the oldest on the island. One of them which is very overgrown, has graves dating back to 1847. These graves were transferred from Ramsey Point along the beach, where repeating tides resulted in the erosion of old naval grave sites. One of the two graves relocated was that of Commander James A. Gordan of HMS Wolf, present at the handing over of Labuan to the British on December 24, 1846 and who assisted in the construction of the grounds. Of this era, today, only the water storage tank remains, along with a small grave of a much-loved foxhound named 'Jim'.

The Labuan Botanical Garden is located behind the old airport, about 2km east of Labuan town and is accessible via Jalan OKK Abdullah

Enjoy as we take a pictorial walk around the Botanical Gardens.

In a later post, we will see the beautiful and relaxing water features of the Botanical Gardens in Labuan.