Five Fair Price Cooperative Shops for Sabah
PUTATAN: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin said five modern Fair Price Cooperative Shops (PPC) will be set up in Sabah this year.
Yahya said the cooperative shops would be implemented throughout the country and Sabah has been allocated with five shops to be sited at parliamentary constituencies.
He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) through the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM) had allocated RM300 million for the program.
“A total of RM150 million will be provided in the form of aid and RM150,000 more in the form of loans as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak during the 2016 Umno General Assembly,” said Yahya when chairing the State Cooperative Consultative Council meeting here yesterday.
Yahya, who is also the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, said the cooperative shops could help people in dealing with the issue of increasing cost of living in addition to providing and improving accessibility and availability of goods to consumers at an affordable price.
“The PPC will provide more choices on consumer goods in addition to creating a platform for modern business that is organized and systematic,” he said. According to him, cooperatives registered under the Cooperative Act 1993 are eligible to apply to participate in the PPC programs in their respective constituencies.
Yahya said as of December 31, last year 1,374 cooperatives were registered in the state with a total of 335,487 members and a share capital and fees of RM157.6 million and assets totalling RM787.3 million.
“The amount of revenue recorded by the cooperative movement in Sabah last year was RM323.8 million. Overall, there was an increase in the growth of cooperatives in Sabah over the years,” he added.