Wan Junaidi speaking to reporters at a press conference at Angkasa Sarawak headquarters in Matang.
KUCHING (Dec 27): Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is targeting that the contribution of cooperatives to the Malaysian gross domestic product (GDP) can reach up to RM100 billion by the year 2030.
He said he was confident that the target could be achieved with proper development to all cooperatives in terms of training and guidance for its members, proper direction, and cooperation with international cooperatives through the more established cooperative bodies such as Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa).
“At the moment cooperatives contributed about RM45 bil to the country’s GDP. By the end of 2025 we hope it would be able to contribute about RM65 bil, and eventually RM100 bil by 2030.
“So now cooperatives’ contribution to the GDP is about 2 to 3 per cent, at least if it can contribute up to 10 per cent to the country’s GDP, that would be ideal,” he said.
Wan Junaidi was speaking at a press conference after a working visit to Angkasa Sarawak’s headquarters and its BA100 grocery shop selling essential items with competitive prices.
On the topic of the BA100 grocery shop, he also urged other cooperatives in the country to adopt the BA100 grocery shop concept of selling essential items and daily groceries at competitive prices, and to also help local entrepreneurs to sell their local products as well.
He said many local small entrepreneurs especially those in the cottage industries producing food products have consistency issues when it comes to marketing.
Wan Junaidi said among the challenges and issues they faced were supply consistency, packaging and marketing.
However, if a village were to set up a cooperative, they would be able to help their local entrepreneurs and cottage industries to resolve some of these issues, and the more established cooperatives like Angkasa can also buy their products and market them at its BA100 shops not just in the state but also nationwide.
And if other cooperatives can open up grocery shops like the BA100, they too can help market products produced by the local entrepreneurs.
“We can develop this BA100 concept and spread it wider across the state and even the country, and maybe under one branding. They can market their products through e-commerce or physically.
“This concept can be used as a base for other cooperatives to not only expand the market of their products but they can also use this concept to become distributors of their products.
“The concept can also be used as outlets for products marketed under e-commerce, similar system that is being used in China and the United States of America (USA),” he said.
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