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Labuan is the main island of the Malaysian Federal Territory of Labuan. Labuan is best known as an offshore financial centre and a tourist destination for nearby Bruneians and scuba divers. The name Labuan derives from the Malay word labuhan meaning anchorage. The Federal Territory of Labuan comprises Labuan Island (75 km²) and six other smaller islands (Pulau Burung, Pulau Daat, Pulau Kuraman, Pulau Papan, Pulau Rusukan Kecil, and Pulau Rusukan Besar), which have a combined total area of 92 km². The islands lie 8 km off the coast of Borneo, adjacent to the Malaysian state of Sabah and the independent state of Brunei Darussalam, on the northern edge of Brunei Bay facing the South China Sea. Labuan Island is mainly flat and undulating and the highest point is only 85 metres. Over 70 percent of the island is still covered with vegetation. Bandar Labuan, formerly known as Victoria, is the major town and port and faces Brunei Bay. Currently, the Federal Territory of Labuan is divided into 8 administrative districts Labuan was a part of the Brunei Sultanate. In 1840 the British used the previously-uninhabited island as a base for operations against piracy and later as a station for the submarine cable between Singapore and Hong Kong. The Sultan of Brunei ceded Labuan to Britain in 1846, and the island became a Crown Colony in 1848. It was made a part of North Borneo on 1 January 1890, then on 30 October 1906 joined to the Straits Settlements. The first White Rajah of Sarawak, James Brooke was appointed commander-in-chief and Governor of the new territory.
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