KUALA LUMPUR: Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (Angkasa) has requested the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to prioritise recognising cooperatives as an important sector in driving economic development across Asean nations during Malaysia's Asean chairmanship next year.
Angkasa president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah said currently, cooperatives are often perceived as being limited to agricultural activities, whereas they actually span a wide range of sectors including finance, tourism, health, renewable energy (RE), IT and logistics.
"We want cooperatives to be included in Asean's pillars or agenda, granted a greater role and clearer policies for cooperatives to operate effectively across Asean nations.
If this happens, Asean, as the fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030, could benefit immensely.
"Asean currently has nearly 700 million people, making it the next largest after China, India and the United States.
This opportunity must be seized by the Asean cooperative movement," he told Business Times.
He said from Angkasa's perspective, they are working towards this and aim to strengthen the cooperative structure within Asean, recognising that there are currently 65 million cooperative members in the region.
He added that this potential should be explored.
"Malaysia has already taken steps at the Asean level by working to establish the Asean Cooperative Development Bank, which has been agreed upon through resolutions formed by Asean co-operative organisation (ACO).
"We envision actively participating in Asean's growth as the fourth-largest economic power. If cooperatives are left behind, we will miss out on these benefits.
"Therefore, in the Malaysian context, we have decided to strengthen our representation internationally, including ensuring that all Angkasa board members have a platform in any committees established," Fattah said.
"This includes upgrading packaging and educating cooperatives on how to export. These are among the forward-looking initiatives because we recognise that Asean will become a strong economic bloc, and cooperatives must play a role in this," he added.
He said at the Asean level, Angkasa has introduced five Asean corners, where each country is required to showcase at least 10 cooperative stock keep units from their respective regions that can be marketed internationally.
"We are requesting the goodwill of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to bring this issue to the leadership level of Asean countries, emphasising cooperatives as a vehicle for socio-economic development.
"Issues such as poverty eradication, improving living standards, boosting economic levels, uniting communities and education are among the matters we want to highlight," Fattah added.
The Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Ministry (KUSKOP) in collaboration with Angkasa, SKM and the Institut Koperasi Malaysia (IKMa)organised the launching ceremony of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 (IYC2025) at the national level on Thusrday.
The event was officiated by Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick and successfully gathered 700 physical and 2,000 online members of cooperatives, representatives of federal and state government agencies and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
The organisation of IYC2025 is a platform for Malaysia to empower and promote the national cooperative sector at the international level, in line with the 16,009 number of cooperatives, with a membership of 7.2 million and cooperative earnings of RM33.1 billion.
In conjunction with IYC2025, Malaysia has planned various cooperative programs, including the Asean Cooperative Dialogue 2025, the National Cooperative Empowerment Convention in conjunction with the Angkasa Representative General Meeting (MAPA), Coop Treasure Hunt 2025, Bulan Koperasi Kebangsaan (BKK), Hari Koperasi Negara (HKN) and a seminar on Youth for Cooperative Futures.
According to Angkasa, the achievements and successes of cooperatives in various sectors are seen as one of the pillars of the country's economic strength and are believed to remain relevant.
It said that awareness of the benefits, roles, values and identity of cooperatives that prioritise inclusive economic models and social development needs to be enhanced in efforts to empower the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda, in line with environmental, social, and governance practices and the government's Madani aspirations.