Asajaya co-operative seeks to be exemplary
KUCHING: Koperasi Penduduk Daerah Asajaya Berhad, registered on April 13, 2018, aims to become an exemplary cooperative that provides benefits not only to members but also contributes to the economy.
Chairman Bong Kim Siong said the co-operative has 80 members who hail from Asajaya or who own land in the district.
“Most of our members are farmers and oil palm planters and each paid an entrance fee of RM500 and holds a minimum of RM1,000 in shares. The total paid up capital is RM950,000,” he said during a briefing session for Malaysian Co-operatives Commission executive chairman Datuk Nordin Saleh here recently.
Bong said the co-operative invests in various agricultural crops, crop nurseries, investment, lending, and trading activities, as well as providing training courses to members and locals.
He explained that Koperasi Penduduk Daerah Asajaya Berhad was set up following the advice of former chairman and advisor Jong Ah Say when the price of palm oil was low in 2017.
Bong, who is also an oil palm planter, said in 2017 members wanted to diversify to planting other crops in order to sustain their livelihood but this was halted due to a lack of capital.
“Because of that he (Jong) proposed to set up the cooperative as part of efforts to pool our resources together in order to meet the capital fund needed for projects,” he said, adding that members liked the idea very much.