M’sia expected to recognise Asean cooperative

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia, which will assume the chairmanship of Asean 2015, is expected to recognise the One Asean Cooperative ( ACO) as an official body championing cooperative issues in the region.

Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) president Datuk Abdul Fatah Abdullah said this was because at the moment, there was no specific platform to discuss cooperative issues among Asean countries.

He was elected ACO president, replacing Indonesia for the 20142018 period at the new leadership elections held in Bali on September 16 this year. ACO was established seven years ago, comprising parent cooperative bodies from the 10 Asean countries to strengthen ties and increase cooperation among cooperatives in the region.

"My duty now is to ensure that ACO, which has 60 million cooperative members in Asean, be registered under the Asean Secretariat for the interest of the cooperative movements in member countries.

"We will request for help from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on this matter," he told reporters after the Cooperative Talk here yesterday.

Abdul Fatah said as the new ACO president, he would also increase trade among Asean cooperatives.

Among the strategies employed was to organise the Malaysian Carnival of Cooperatives' Products and Services 2014 which will be held at the Shah Alam Convention Centre from December 12 to 14.

"We want to introduce our products overseas, and are currently awaiting confirmation from countries such as Singapore and Thailand to participate in this carnival," he said. – Bernama