‘Work with cooperatives to expand industry’
SIBU: Entrepreneurs here are advised to work with Maktab Koperasi Malaysia ( MKM) to fi nd ways to expand the Stingless Bee Honey industry.
District officer Awang Yusof Awang Mostapha gave the advice when speaking at the closing of a talk on ‘Sustainable Cooperatives Human Capital and Stingless Bee Potential to Generate Income’ at the Islamic Complex here yesterday.
According to him, Stingless Bee Honey is one of the ways to expand the state’s economy.
“Our chief minister has always emphasised the need to develop the digital economy in the state.
“That is why we have e-pay, and I think we should take this opportunity to think of how we can make use of the technology and do business online,” he suggested.
Awang Yusof was representing Minister of International Trade and E- Commerce Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh at the function.
According to him, the cost of honey from stingless bees is cheaper in Sarawak compared to West Malaysia.
He said the cost of building the bees nest in Sarawak is only between RM100 and RM200 while in West Malaysia it is about RM1,000.
Meanwhile, MKM sector head Mohd Roslan Bani Amin said MKM is making efforts to encourage more young people to be involved in the cooperatives.
“Our programme encourages young people to join us. We also incorporate social media and other digital tools to encourage them to be involved,” he pointed out.
He said MKM provides long term programme and some online courses to encourage more young people to join the cooperatives.
“This is our role in bringing about the development of MKM and the economy, but your support is very much appreciated,” he said.
Meanwhile, there were about 1,000 registered cooperatives in the state with membership of more than 320,000 at the close of last year.
Roslan said the cooperatives in the state have an asset of about RM550 million and could generate incomes of more than RM140 million.