KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, through the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM), wants the cooperative involvement to be expanded into various activities, particularly in modern agriculture to address the issue of food security in the country.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the cooperative movement, which was more focused on the services sector (86 percent), needed to be diversified into the agriculture and food production sectors, to ensure enough food production for the people and reduce food imports of about RM10bil a year.
“Exposure on the use of new technologies should be promoted, especially among graduates as the issue of food security has taught us a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have to feed our people while ensuring Singapore gets enough supplies of vegetables and eggs. Therefore, we must be more prepared to face any possible illnesses and situations of this nature (Covid-19) in the future,” he told the media during his official visit to SKM here today.
Wan Junaidi said the cooperative involvement in the manufacturing and mining sectors should also be expanded.
Meanwhile, he hoped the cooperative development would intensified with the tabling of the Cooperative Bill 1993 (Amendment 2007) (Act 502) in Parliament and its enforcement this year.
“The amendment will not only involve current issues such as digitization, the use of new technologies, and the latest trends, including mechanisation and automation, but also will be eco-friendly to reduce carbon footprint and protect the environment,” he said.
He said as the largest social and economic organisation in the country with a membership of about six million people, cooperatives were responsible in mobilising the country’s economy and creating successful social enterprise cooperatives, in tandem with the cooperative activities in developed countries.
On another note, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that he had withdrawn and cancelled the proposed merger between SKM and the Cooperative Institute of Malaysia as proposed by the previous government (PH).
“Instead, we aim to enlarge the institute by turning it into a college university,” he added. – Bernama
