RM93.9 million in TMPSKM funding channelled to 34 cooperatives in Sabah from 2022–2026: Ewon

17 April 2026

KOTA KINABALU: The Deputy Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport of Sabah, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said that RM93.9 million in funding has been approved for 34 cooperatives in Sabah through the Malaysian Co-operative Commission Revolving Capital Fund (TMPSKM) for the period 2022 to 2026.

The former Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives said that this reflects the government's ongoing commitment to strengthening the role of cooperatives as drivers of community economies.

“Based on the briefing from the Director of the Malaysian Co-operative Commission (SKM) Sabah, although the number of cooperatives receiving approvals shows a slight adjustment from 2022 to 2026, the value of funding channelled continues to record impressive increases."

“This development reflects a focus on financing higher-impact and larger-scale projects, including approvals totalling RM4.4 million in 2026,” he said.

He said this after chairing this year's first meeting of the Sabah State Co-operative Consultative Council (MPKN) here today.

Ewon, who was appointed as the new Chairman of MPKN Sabah replacing Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe effective 2 February, also recorded his appreciation to the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP), Steven Sim Chee Kong, for the appointment.

“I will chair this council's meetings more frequently so that joint efforts in developing the cooperative movement can be driven more effectively, especially those involving the Sabah Government,” he said.

He said that the MPKN Sabah meeting is highly significant as a platform to scrutinise and raise state-level cooperative issues before they are brought to the National Co-operative Consultative Council Meeting (MPKK).

“MPKN serves as a platform for discussing state cooperative issues and development, coordinating cooperation among stakeholders, and proposing improvements to cooperative programmes and policies, including training and development programmes,” he said.

He added that at the Ministry of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport (MINDET) level, initial initiatives have been started to amend the scope of the Minister's Special Entrepreneurship Development Fund assistance to also cover the cooperative movement.

MPKN Sabah comprises 28 members consisting of State Executive Council members, representatives from ministries and agencies including KUSKOP, as well as representatives from the cooperative movement.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Malaysian Co-operative Commission (SKM) Sabah, Awg Ruslli Mohammad, said that the cooperative sector in Sabah continues to show impressive development for the period 2021 to 2025, with significant increases in the number of cooperatives, membership, capital, and overall economic generation.

He said that based on the annual development analysis, the total number of cooperatives in Sabah increased from 1,652 in 2021 to 2,047 in 2025.

“The most significant surge was recorded between 2023 and 2024 when 196 new cooperatives were registered, reflecting active growth in the sector,” he said when presenting the Sabah State Cooperative Development Trends 2021-2025 at the MPKN Sabah meeting.

Awg Ruslli said that over the same period, the total cooperative membership also increased consistently from 339,312 to 388,683 members, approaching 400,000 members.

“This development shows the growing confidence of the community in the role and potential of cooperatives."

“From a financial perspective, cooperative share capital nearly doubled over the five-year period, rising from RM56.79 million to RM104.34 million. Annual fee collections also recorded steady increases from RM161.78 million to RM184.30 million, thus indicating healthy and resilient cash flow."

“In addition, Sabah cooperatives' total assets achieved a historic milestone by surpassing RM1 billion in 2024, before rising to RM1.172 billion in 2025. Annual revenue generation also nearly doubled from RM470.84 million in 2021 to RM913.33 million in 2025,” he said.

He further said that the growth indicator analysis also shows that all major components such as share capital, assets, membership, and revenue grew in parallel, with the 2024 to 2025 period identified as a critical surge phase for the cooperative sector in the state.

“For aid applications, 72 cooperatives received allocations totalling RM4.96 million for the period 2023 to 2025, with increasing approval amounts each year."

“In terms of geographical focus, Kota Belud received the highest allocation of RM305,000 or 86.4 per cent of the total aid, followed by Penampang with RM48,000,” he said.