KUALA LUMPUR – Cooperatives in the country successfully generated RM45.7 billion in earnings as at December 31, 2019, said Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said the average income growth of the cooperative sector showed a rise of 3.97% yearly from 2014 until last year.
“The contribution of the cooperative sector to Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) currently is only between 3.0% and 4.0%.
“Although it does seem rather low compared with the sector’s contribution of 19% in Thailand and 26% in Vietnam, cooperatives still have room to grow significantly and improve in terms of value,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin (BN-Rompin) on the contribution by cooperatives to the country’s GDP.
“The spread of Covid-19 has adversely impacted many cooperative activities and operations.
“A study on the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on cooperative businesses by the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia and the Medac post-Covid entrepreneur survey found that the operational performance of cooperative businesses has declined by 32%, which contributed to the decline in cooperative income by up to 33.9%,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said following the implementation of the recovery movement control order, only 39% of the cooperatives are still operating while 17% had stagnated.
He said more than 42% of the cooperatives suffered financial liquidity problems due to lack of working capital, particularly those involved in tourism and healthcare. – Bernama, December 2, 2020
