KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — The close relationship established between the Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), since 1972, is a long-term strategy to expand the country’s cooperative movement to the international market.
Angkasa president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah said the move was part of efforts to maintain strategic cooperation with foreign cooperatives to benefit the market of local cooperatives’ products and services.
“In ensuring that the cooperative movement is able to be a catalyst for the socio-economic well-being of its members and the public, we must not forget that to achieve these objectives, cooperatives need to make a profit through their business activities.
“If you look at the movement’s revenue until December 2021, according to statistics provided by the Malaysian Cooperative Commission (SKM), it has reached RM37.9 billion. Roughly speaking, when the cooperative movement can expand its market abroad, of course, the amount of revenue can be increased and its role to the people in this country can be implemented more effectively,” he said in a statement today.
He said that based on the trust of cooperatives the world over, and seeing the success of the cooperative movement in the country, all Angkasa leaders have been selected to sit on important committees at the international level to establish business relations with external cooperatives, as well as a platform to promote products and services.
“I, myself as the president of the ASEAN Cooperative Organisation (ACO), was recently appointed as vice-president of the International Cooperative Alliance Asia-Pacific (ICA-AP). The number of cooperatives in the Asia-Pacific region exceeds 1.59 million with a membership of about 729.4 million. The population of ASEAN countries alone has reached 681 million.
“Maybe for some, the numbers are just statistics but for Angkasa it is a very big marketing opportunity if it can be utilised by the local cooperatives,” he said.
He also suggested that each ASEAN country has an exhibition corner of cooperative products in countries participating in the ACO, as it would benefit both parties for import and export purposes.
Meanwhile, at the global level, Angkasa board member Datuk Kamarudin Ismail was elected as an ICA board member when Malaysia hosted the International Cooperative Alliance global conference and general assembly in 2017.
Through his position as an ICA board member, various important issues involving local cooperatives have been presented for refinement, as well as appropriate action taken by the European Union.
Abdul Fattah said Angkasa also entered into a strategic partnership with Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest fertiliser producer in India, which would provide long-term benefits to Malaysian cooperatives involved in the agriculture sector and agro-based industries and plantations.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed by Angkasa and IFFCO on the introduction of nano fertilisers for the Malaysian market, during the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)’s global conference and general assembly in Spain, scheduled to be held in June.
He added that, under the 100 Product Champion programme, Angkasa has helped cooperatives to improve product quality in terms of packaging, obtain halal and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, and much more, to meet the international market standards.
Angkasa is also actively promoting the cooperative model, which will further strengthen the network of cooperative movements at the global level, such as the school cooperative and Koperasi Kariah Masjid, to be promoted internationally through ACO, ICA-AP, Organisation of Islamic Corporation (OIC) countries and ICA Global.
“Islamic finance and halal products in Malaysia are also among the things that are referenced by foreign countries due to the country’s comprehensive experience and management. Currently, not only the Islamic countries want halal products but there are also demands from non-Muslim majority countries.
“As the apex body of the national cooperative movement recognised by the government, Angkasa is committed to ensuring that cooperative products and services have a place not only in the domestic market but also abroad so that this movement will become a major player in the industry and in the National Key Result Area (NKRA) of the economy,” he said.
