KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is willing to reconsider renewing the terminated contract with Koperasi Serbaguna Sanya Bhd (Kosan) if the cooperative is able to fulfil the terms and conditions required of them, says Datuk Ellron Angin.
The Sabah Youth and Sports Minister said, after a state Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (March 26), that it was decided that a second-chance might be given to Kosan if it can be revamped and terms laid out are fulfilled.
He said in a press conference on Wednesday that there had been many complaints over the years over the quality of school shoes and uniforms which are distributed to over 287,777 primary school students statewide.
“If the specifications of these supplies can be improved and other terms are met, including partnering with a stable and capable private company, then the state might consider giving them a renewal of contract at the end of this year," he said.
Ellron explained that on March 20 last year, Kosan’s renewal of contract was signed and was supposed to end at the end of this year.
But, the terms were that it had to work with an established private company to run, he said.
However, up to July 24, there were no updates on this requirement and whether Kosan planned to fulfil it, and so on Sept 19, the state decided to terminate the contract.
Ellron said after the termination of the contract, the cooperative had to start letting go of workers and shut down its factory, resulting in some 230 people being left jobless.
“We sympathise with these workers but until Kosan is able to fulfil the terms we set for a reconsideration of contract renewal, we can only wait and it has to be revamped,” he said.
He said if Kosan wants to apply and enroll in the open tender later this year, they can do so as well.
Henry Idol, deputy permanent secretary to the Sabah Community Development and People’s Well-being Ministry, said the issues in Kosan have been going on since the previous governments.
Concerns regarding the workers’ welfare following the news of Kosan's closure were raised by Sabah Umno information chief Datuk Suhaimi Nasir and Tuaran MP Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau recently.
