KUSKOP Boosting Efforts To Revive Inactive Cooperatives Nationwide - Mohamad

KOTA KINABALU, April 18 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (KUSKOP) is actively strengthening efforts to revive inactive cooperatives nationwide through immediate intervention and proposed consolidation.

Deputy Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the move is important to ensure these cooperatives remain competitive and are not shut down.

As of 2025, more than 30 per cent of the total 16,468 national-level cooperatives have been identified as inactive, he noted.

“My concern today is how to reactivate inactive cooperatives. I have requested the Malaysia Cooperative Societies Commission of Malaysia (SKM) particularly to go to the ground and conduct interventions,” he told reporters after attending the Bicara Koperasi and Jom Coop programme organised by the Cooperative Institute of Malaysia here today.

He said one approach being considered is to merge weaker cooperatives so they can have stronger operations through shared resources and capacity, thereby increasing business scale in terms of products, share capital, and the ability to bear liabilities mutually.

Among the main causes of cooperatives becoming inactive are weak management and overreliance on government assistance, said Mohamad, stressing the importance of appointing professionals to cooperative boards to ensure more efficient governance and sustainability.

He said that a total of 16,468 cooperatives were registered nationwide, with membership reaching 7.3 million people as of Dec 31, 2025.

According to him, the sector recorded revenue of RM81.62 billion, with total assets valued at RM186.75 billion.

Mohamad said that for the same period in Sabah, there were 2,047 cooperatives with 389,000 members, recording revenue of RM913.33 million and assets exceeding RM1.2 billion.

-- BERNAMA