PETALING JAYA (Feb 8): The Cooperative Institute of Malaysia (CIM) has been asked to step up its efforts to train cooperative members, especially in management, said Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk R Ramanan.

He said the rapid growth of the cooperative movement demanded more competent and organised management and governance.

“I have asked CIM to take a stand that we have to provide training to all 7.34 million members of cooperatives across the country, which translates to 20% of the Malaysian population.

“We have an estimate of 15,000 cooperatives in Malaysia. [Therefore] CIM has to play a very important role in training them on how to do business and carry out activities which are important for the management of cooperatives,” he said after officiating the Memasyarakatkan Koperasi (Maskop) Madani 2024 programme here on Thursday.

Earlier in his speech, Ramanan said the cooperatives movement in Malaysia will be among his ministry’s entrepreneurship agenda to address the cost of living issues and current economic uncertainty.

“The potential of the cooperative movement has increased in parallel with the increase in the number of cooperatives and their members.

“Involvement of cooperatives in exploring the key areas of success is something we can be proud of, such as tourism, farming, finance, real estate, retail and wholesale. However, this development entails a more competent and well-planned method of cooperative governance,” he said.

Accordingly, Ramanan said the ministry will always support CIM in playing its roles to achieve the cooperatives’ education agenda and aspirations.

In order to make the effort a success, the deputy minister also asked the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission and Angkatan Kebangsaan Koperasi Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) to provide scholarships and study loans for students at Universiti Keusahawanan Koperasi Malaysia (UKKM).

Meanwhile, Ramanan, who is also the former chairman of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) Special Committee, congratulated Batu Member of Parliament P Prabakaran for being appointed as his successor at Mitra, effective Wednesday.

Ramanan also expressed hope that Prabakaran would be able to continue where he had left off and continue to work closely with the Ministry of National Unity, which is responsible for managing Mitra.