- Lahad Datu
Lahad Datu is a town and district located in
Tawau Division , in the east ofSabah , easternMalaysia on the island ofBorneo . It occupies the peninsula on the north side ofDarvel Bay . Its population was estimated to be around 118,000 in1991 and 156,059 in the2000 census. Lahad Datu is surrounded by stretches ofcocoa andoil palm plantations. It is also an importanttimber exporting port. The town has an airport for domestic flights.A settlement is believed to have existed here in the 15th century, as excavations have unearthed
Ming dynasty Chinese ceramics. Just east of Lahad Datu, is the village of Tunku, a notorious base for Lanun pirates and slave traders in the 19th century. Lahad Datu is a gateway to theDanum Valley Conservation Area , theTabin Wildlife Reserve in the east, andMadai Caves further south.Lahad Datu is also home to Sabah's population of Cocos Island Malays, who were settled in this area in the 1950s when the Cocos Islands became part of
Australia .Besides that, Lahad Datu also has palm oil refineries.
The Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) [http://www.poic.com.my] is located near the Lahad Datu Port and will be completed by Mid-2007. It consists of convert|1150|acre|km2|0 of land developed (with a centralised bulking facility and a jetty, currently under construction, which will have a draft of 20 meters, making it one of the few deep sea ports in the world) specifically for palm oil downstream industries. To date, 18 companies have bought land in POIC with eight being companies involved in the production of palm biodiesel. POIC is a wholly State-owned company under the purview of the Ministry of Industrial Development. Its Chairman is the current minister,
Datuk Dr. Ewon Ebin and the Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Pang Teck Wai.Lahad Datu also is the base of
Borneo Child Aid Society (Locally Humana Child Aid Society Sabah) [http://www.borneochildaid.org Homepage] which provides education for more than 5000 children of plantation workers and others without access to basic education.External links
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