| Azlan Othman |
A TOTAL of 161 cooperatives have registered since 1976 including 20 which are set up at ministries and government agencies and 15 at educational institutions. Sixty cooperatives are active in doing business while 101 are inactive and no longer in operation.
As of 2017, the revenue of the cooperatives was B$38 million with 1,264 number of workers. Of that total, 80 per cent are locals. Membership stood at 33,143. This was shared by the Minister of Energy and Industry, YB Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Mohd Hussein at the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday while responding to LegCo members Haji Mohimin bin Haji Johari @ Jahari and YB Naim bin Haji Kamis.
YB Dato Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mat Suny also highlighted the challenges faced by cooperatives such as inefficient management, lack of understanding of the concept and principles of cooperatives, non-adherence to laws under Cooperatives Societies Act Chapter 84 and lack of interest among youths.
The programmes and development plan of cooperatives at present focus on six matters, namely promoting the cooperative movement; opening employment opportunities for local children; encouraging youth engagement in cooperatives; encouraging cooperatives to explore potential business areas for domestic and foreign markets; enhancing the development of cooperative human capital; and enforcing transparency and order. Subsequently, to explore potential business for domestic and overseas markets, honey and aquaculture projects are being promoted. Discussions are also being held with state outsourcing marketing companies for overseas exports. A proposal to establish a distribution centre was highlighted in 2016. The ministry welcomes initiatives to enhance interest about the cooperative sector among locals, the minister said. The initiatives need not be limited to retail shops, as wholesale stores, supply shops for farmers are also welcome. Nine cooperatives are currently active in agriculture mostly under Rural Agricultural Development Programme.
On the query made by LegCo member and Village Head of Kampong Masjid Lama, Pekan Muara, Sabun and Pelumpong YB Pengiran Haji Mohamed bin Pengiran Haji Osman @ Othman regarding saving electricity and security issues due to alternate closure of street lights, the minister said the alternate closing of road lights does not involve strategic areas such as main junctions, sharp turns, mosque junctions, school junctions, flyovers, roundabouts and other areas for the safety of road users. Through frequent dialogue sessions with the village heads, the Department of Electrical Services (DES) has identified locations that need to be lit and this matter has already been addressed. The cooperation of village heads is needed to solve issues related to street lighting, the minister added. The DES requested to report such issues through the official channels.
