Riot praises exemplary village cooperatives
SERIAN: The people in Serian can be proud of the fact that several cooperatives in the Serian parliamentary constituency are among the nation’s success stories.
Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said a few of those successful cooperatives in Serian are among the best managed cooperatives, including Koperasi Kampung Bunan.
“I must congratulate Koperasi Kampung Bunan, which is a fine example of how good business practices can be done even in a remote village,” he said at a closing ceremony of the ‘Program Sembang Anggota Nadi Koperasi’ organised by Maktab Koperasi Malaysia Zon Sarawak in Bunan Punok about 65km from here Sunday evening.
Riot, who is Human Resources Minister, expressed his wish to see more cooperatives set up in his constituency so that the people can participate in the country’s journey towards becoming a high income economy.
He explained the government had undertaken many proactive approaches in its effort to empower the people to be economically strong and that one such approach is via cooperatives.
“For those village folks lacking in capital, cooperatives give them the chance to pool together their resources and go into business with the support and guidance of the KPDNKK ( Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism),” he said.
Riot, however, advised the managers of village cooperatives to learn from the experiences of so many failed cooperatives of the past.
He said members of cooperative boards must be trustworthy and not make decisions for quick personal gains.
“Many cooperatives started with a bang and ended with even a bigger bang because of doings of their managers.
“One cooperative started with owning a four- storey building right in the middle of the town, but because of bad management, it was forced to sell the whole building,” he said.
He also spoke of how members killed their cooperatives by taking goods on credit with no intentions of paying back.
“If you can spend hard cash in the supermarkets, there is no reason why you should be taking goods on credit from your cooperatives,” he said.
Among those present at the event were political secretary to Riot Major ( R) Datuk Peter Runin, Tebedu District officer Raymond Achen, Makt ab Koperasi Malaysia Zon Sarawak director Siti Maimunah Jerni, and Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia Sarawak director Othman Ismail.
Many cooperatives started with a bang and ended with even a bigger bang because of doings of their managers. Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem, Serian MP