Good planning by cooperatives and entrepreneurs key to success

22 April 2024

Nabalu News Journalist

KOTA KINABALU: The success of a cooperative and an entrepreneur comes from systematic planning at the grassroots level and efficient implementation.

Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative (MEDC) Datuk Ewon Benedick said a well-established cooperative relationship among all entrepreneurs and cooperative members needs to be fostered and sought after in order to achieve the objectives of the cooperative and the entrepreneurs.

Speaking during the Inaugural Ceremony of the Office of the Malaysian Cooperative Commission (SKM) for the Northwest Coast Region he said as a large organisation, the cooperative movement is capable of making this country strong and resilient in the face of various challenges and obstacles.

“Therefore, continuous efforts need to be strategically implemented to ensure that the cooperative sector remains competitive and sustainable, including all local entrepreneurs,” he said.

The government is very concerned that the success of delivering public services to target groups depends on the efficiency of the services as well as having skilled and experienced officers and staff, he said, adding the responsibility of each MEDC agency and expect all agencies under the Ministry in Sabah to continue to be active and play their respective roles in delivering information about the facilities and programmes provided directly to the local community.

He also stressed that field activities are also the best approach for agencies to listen to the grievances of the community and take immediate action to resolve any problems they face. It provides a platform for the local community to discuss issues that pose difficulties for them, especially those in rural areas.

“The Ministry, through SKM, has also taken various initiatives to enhance the cooperative movement with various facilities for cooperatives, such as development grants for cooperatives up to RM300,000 and the Revolving Capital Fund (TMP-SKM) up to RM30 million.”

“ In 2023, a total of RM663,000.00 of SKM assistance has been approved, benefiting 9 cooperatives in Sabah. Of this amount, 4 cooperatives are from the North West Coast Area, receiving a total of RM470,000.00 in SKM assistance to help improve cooperative businesses.

"As for TMP-SKM, a total of RM4,364,500.00 has been approved, benefiting 9 cooperatives. SKM hopes that such assistance will further strengthen the cooperative movement in Sabah, especially in Malaysia as a whole.”

As of December 31, 2023, the number of registered cooperatives is 15,809, with a total membership of 7.2 million people. In terms of share capital/fees, a total of RM17.4 billion has been recorded, with a total accumulated assets of RM165.8 billion and a total acquisition value of RM64.5 billion.

“Meanwhile, as of December 31, 2023, the Cooperative Statistics Data for the State of Sabah shows that there are 1,798 registered cooperatives, with a total of 369,619 members.

The accumulated share capital and fees amount to RM256 million, and the accumulated assets are valued at RM945 million. The total acquisition amount is RM677.8 million.”

He congratulated Lieutenant General Datuk Ahmad Norihan Jalal (R), Chairman of the Malaysian Cooperative Commission and Rusli Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer of SKM, for their efforts in successfully relocating the SKM Office of the Northern West Coast Region (PBU) to the more strategic Grand Merdeka Mall within a short period of time.

“This achievement demonstrates the capability and commitment of SKM in consistently striving to provide the best services to cooperative members and the local community.”

He expressed his hope that the new office will make the working environment more conducive to SKM PBU employees in improving the productivity and quality of public service delivery to the community in the Sepanggar Parliament, Inanam constituency and Kota Belud Parliament areas.