CO-OPS MALAYSIA CONTRIBUTE 1% OF GDP

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8

Cooperative societies in the country contribute only one per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Dewan Rakyat was told today.This was a far cry from the contribution made by cooperatives in developed countries which accounted for 10 per cent of the GDP, said Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Noh Omar."

It is for this reason that the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission (MCSM) has created 100 business opportunities for over 600 cooperative societies and it plans to create 800 more cooperatives based on categories, functions and areas."We also plan to nurture 200 more entrepreneur cooperatives as we want cooperatives to be managed like private companies and not as thrift companies," he said in reply to a supplementary question from Azan Ismail (PKR-Indera Mahkota).

To a supplementary question from Ismail Mohd Said (BN-Kuala Krau), Noh said in an effort to eradicate poverty, 30,000 grants would be given to 300 poor people in each constituency to subscribe to shares in the cooperatives.

To the original question from Azan, Noh said RM22.942 million in transactions were carried out by cooperatives in 2007, RM22.949 million in 2006, RM22.953 million in 2005 and RM22.940 million in 2004.-- BERNAMA