MELAKA: The Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM) is stepping up efforts to increase youth participation in cooperatives, with only 87,000 members recorded across 207 youth cooperatives to date.
SKM chairman Lt Gen (Rtd) Datuk Ahmad Norihan Jalal said that of this number, five cooperatives involving 1,025 youth members have been established in Melaka, mostly in the tourism, services and agriculture industries.
"Our priority next year is to focus on the establishment of more youth cooperatives because their participation is still low, even though they are not only an integral part of the cooperative movement but also the future of the national cooperative sector.
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"Therefore, SKM needs to work hard to ensure more young people join the cooperative movement through various approaches. But we are not setting any specific target for the establishment of youth cooperatives next year,” he told reporters here Thursday (Nov 20) night.
He said this after the 2025 Melaka state cooperative movement appreciation ceremony, officiated by senior state exco for housing, local government, drainage, climate change and disaster management Datuk Rais Yasin.
Also present was state entrepreneur development, cooperatives and consumer affairs committee chairman Allex Seah Shoo Chin.
Ahmad Norihan said that although the establishment of youth cooperatives is a priority for SKM, quality must remain the core of each cooperative formed to ensure it remains competitive, sustainable in its ventures and able to generate good returns.
He said SKM provides advisory services, guidance and various development programmes to encourage greater youth participation in the cooperative movement.
"In addition, SKM also offers various support facilities in the form of grants, financing or loans to ensure cooperatives can grow alongside other business entities,” he said.
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He added that cooperatives in Melaka have recorded many encouraging achievements as a result of the state government’s support and assistance for the movement.
He said that as of December last year, Melaka had 504 registered cooperatives with 173,000 members, accumulated shares and fees totalling RM107.05mil, total assets of RM598.66mil, and cooperative movement revenue of RM181.64mil.
At the ceremony, the state government presented RM200,000 under the Micro Cluster Cooperative Empowerment Assistance Programme (e-Mikro) and RM100,000 in allocations to implement cooperative development programmes this year to SKM Melaka.
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In addition, five top cooperatives in the state received awards in recognition of their achievements, with the first place going to the Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Negeri Melaka Berhad.
At the same event, the Profile Book of the Top 30 Cooperatives in Melaka, showcasing the achievements of outstanding cooperatives, was launched as a reference and inspiration for other cooperatives in the state. – Bernama
