Cooperative Commission Aims To Bolster Co-Op Sector Revenue To RM38 Billion

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The Cooperative Commission of Malaysia aims to boost the cooperative sector's revenue to RM38.5 billion by 2020. The sector's current revenue is RM24.5 billion.

Source from (Bernama): http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/bu/newsbusiness.php?id=929023
Published: February 21, 2013

The commission's newly appointed Executive Chairman Datuk Nik Ali Mat Yunus said the sector has the capacity to grow more vigorously if a diversified industry network was established not only in the credit field but also in diverse economic sectors such as manufacturing and services.

"By transforming big cooperatives as icons or parent bodies to smaller cooperatives, it will create the synergy and a value chain that can be shared to turn the cooperative movement into a major industry like in advanced nations.

"In fact, if cooperatives can penetrate regional and international markets, cooperatives will have big growth potential," he told reporters in an interview.

There are 10,083 cooperatives in the country, with close to eight million members, said Nik Ali, who succeeeded Datuk Md Yusof Samsudin, on Jan 21.

Nik Ali said Asean has a vary large population, numbering 600 million, promising big prospects to local cooperatives intending to explore the export market and to create synergy among the countries in line with the Asean spirit of cooperation and collaboration framework.

In fact, he said, in tandem with Asean leaders' plan to establish the Asean Community by 2020, domestic cooperatives must move alongside and restructure their organisational set-up to seize the huge business opportunities through the Asean market.

Nik Ali said he intends to transform cooperatives, regarded as small and medium, into big and viable entities.

"Small cooperatives should not merely rely on the credit given to their members but must venture into diverse businesses that can generate domestic economy," he said.

He said the commission's role was not merely as a supervisory body but also to ensure cooperatives continue to grow and expand through promotional initiatives in tandem with the commission's strategic plan to transform cooperatives into a formidable movement, with a global and iconic outlook.

Nik Ali urged leaders of domestic cooperatives to study the best practices adopted by major cooperatives in developing and advanced nations which have a sound and stable administrative structure.

"Our cooperatives should emulate these legacies and see how they contribute to the national economy of developed nations, particularly in Europe.

"Cooperatives not only benefit the members but also contribute immensely to national economic growth through various economic and financial sectors such as the services industry, retail, manufacturing and related sectors," he added.

-- BERNAMA