by BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR – Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (ANGKASA) is confident that cooperative institutions will continue to be the socio-economic driving force in facing the health crisis that affects the economic growth sustainability of businesses today.

Its president Datuk Abdul Fattah Abdullah (picture) said that to ensure the cooperative movement continues to move forward, the institutional development agenda must move in line with the Malaysian Cooperative Transformation Plan (TransKom) 2021-2025 and the National Entrepreneurship Policy (DKN2030) as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 agenda.

“Based on statistics from the Malaysian Cooperatives Commission (SKM) as of Dec 31, 2020, the cooperative movement has assets of RM150.5 billion, shares/ fees of RM15.8 billion and turnover of RM41.5 billion,” he said in a statement today, besides expressing support for Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia.

He said ANGKASA was also confident that the cooperative movement would continue to strengthen its role and be more progressive with the leadership of Ismail Sabri who had held the cooperative portfolio as the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism (KPDNKK) in 2009 to 2013.

Among Ismail Sabri’s contributions while leading the ministry were initiating the formation of the Putrajaya Declaration agreed between ANGKASA, SKM and the Institut Koperasi Malaysia (IKM) in 2012 which assign the responsibility to ANGKASA to lead the cooperative economy nationwide.

Abdul Fattah said Ismail Sabri also supported the programme which brought together one million cooperative members on National Cooperative Day in 2012, provided allocations through the Cooperative Development Trust Fund to school cooperatives that made the School Cooperative Day successful in 2009 and started the Koperasi Kariah Masjid campaign.

“ANGKASA also thanks the previous government leaders who have given support to the cooperative movement through various initiatives, stimulus packages and assistance to support the sustainability and recovery of cooperatives in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.