MELAKA – Sahabat Ar-Rahnu recorded a 21.4% growth in jewellery safekeeping revenue to RM8.14 million in the first 11 months of this year compared to RM6.71 million in the same period last year.
Koperasi Sahabat Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia Bhd (Koop Sahabat) chairman Mohd Najib Mohd Noor said the better performance was due to the rising gold price and market demand for shariah-compliant pawn services amid challenging economic conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the spread of Covid-19 did not affect Sahabat Ar-Rahnu’s business but income during the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and recovery movement control order (RMCO) increased because members such as entrepreneurs needed capital to start their business.
“This impressive achievement has prompted Koop Sahabat to formulate a strategic plan to further strengthen its position in the Ar-Rahnu business by opening more branches nationwide and thus offer more business opportunities to locals.
“So far, we have opened 18 branches and a total of 42 Sahabat Ar-Rahnu branches are targeted to be opened nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak, by 2024,” he told reporters at the opening of the Sahabat Ar-Rahnu Ayer Keroh branch officiated by Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Deputy Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, at the Melaka International Trade Centre today.
Sahabat Ar-Rahnu Ayer Keroh is the 18th branch, and the first in Melaka, since Koop Sahabat began the Ar-Rahnu operations in 2014.
Meanwhile, Mas Ermieyati said the Cooperatives (Amendment) Bill 2020 would boost the cooperative movement in the country which had now reached 12,625 cooperatives involving 6.09 million members, if it could be implemented as soon as possible.
She said the bill, tabled for a second reading in Parliament on Nov 2, was expected to be brought to the Dewan Rakyat session next year.
“The amendments to the Cooperative Societies Act are important to ensure that the cooperative movement can be strengthened,” she said.
Mas Ermieyati said the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, through the Malaysian Cooperative Commission, continued to provide support and assistance to help reactivate inactive cooperatives.
She said the effort was important because the cooperative movement had a big impact not only on the country’s economy but also on the local community and its members. – Bernama December 11, 2020
