National Cooperatives Day celebration at Centre Point

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah level 2022 National Cooperatives Day celebration will be held at Centre Point here on June 3-5.

Sabah Commission of Cooperatives Malaysia (SKM) director Matias Kundapin said that various activities for the public have been planned, including exhibitions to showcase the products and services of 23 cooperatives from the micro, small, large and medium clusters with four clusters under the food and beverage sector, handicrafts, homestays and products as well as health services.

There will also be presentation of awards to the best cooperatives in various sectors in Sabah, he said. Matias also said that the cooperative industry has reached a century old this year.

He said that the first cooperative in Malaysia was a credit cooperative named Syarikat Bekerjasama Jimat Cermat dan Pinjaman Wang Pekerja-pekerja Jabatan Pos dan Telekom Berhad which was set up on July 21, 1922.

“In Sabah, the first cooperative registered was The Lubak Co-operative Stock Rearing Society Limited on April 20, 1959, although today, only the Green Sabah Berhad cooperative is still around for 63 years in Sabah. It was registered on August 18, 1959 and carries out agriculture, real estate and finance,” he said.

In conjunction with the 100 years of the cooperative movement in Malaysia and to recognise the contribution of cooperatives to the country’s socioeconomic, the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry through the Commission of Cooperatives Malaysia (SKM) and agencies involved in the cooperative sector, had prepared several programmes to celebrate the 100 years of cooperatives, he said.

“In Sabah, SKM Sabah will be organising the National Cooperatives Day celebration with the cooperation of agencies under the ministry and other government agencies such as the Sabah zone Malaysia Cooperative Institute (IKMa), Sabah Islamic Affairs Department (JHEAINS), Industrial Development and Research Department, Sabah TEKUN Nasional branch, Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (ANGKASA) Sabah, Bank Rakyat, and Koperasi Coop Bank Pertama Berhad Sabah branch.

“The focus of the event is to group products and services given by cooperatives in Sabah to be promoted to the people of Sabah, especially those visiting Centre Point (in Kota Kinabalu),” he said during a flagging-off ceremony held at the Palace Hotel near here yesterday.