BELAWAI: Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan has suggested that a collection centre be established in the central region of Sarawak to facilitate the production and marketing of agricultural products.
Through the collection centre, the products could be marketed widely including overseas. So far, Sarawak already had such collection centres in Lawas and Samarahan.
“I will submit a suggestion to the Chief Minister to establish the collection centre in the central region of Sarawak. And the most suitable place to set up it is in Tanjung Manis,” he added yesterday when officiating at the opening of the National Co-operatives Day state-level celebration held at the carnival site of Kampung Belawai in Tanjung Manis here.
Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, pointed out that the cooperatives movement was one of the largest contributors to the country’s development.
The programmes organised by the cooperatives aimed to enhance the socio-economic status of the people, particularly in the rural areas, he said.
“Thus, to ensure that the cooperatives movement is well managed, the management must adapt to high value sectors.
“The most important thing is to obtain better revenues through cooperatives. The cooperatives movement is an important channel for the rural people who are unable to engage in large-scale businesses.
“Developed countries are focusing on cooperatives. And in Taiwan, for example, cooperatives are involved in downstream activities as well as marketing by setting up their own banks and supermarkets,” he said.
Tengah, who is also the Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, pointed out that Sarawak had 1,200 cooperatives with total assets of RM574 million and turnovers of RM360 million.
“The state government is emphasizing on the digital economy, which is an effort to boost the state’s economy.
“With the information communication technology (ICT) revolution and the process of globalisation, the world has become closer. And if we fully utilise the digital economy through the internet, we can market our products further, and this is a great opportunity to produce products,” he added.
At the function, Awang Tengah handed over the state-level best cooperatives awards to the recipients. The recipients were Koperasi Polis Diraja Malaysia Sarawak Berhad (Financial services category), Koperasi Penanam Sawit Mampan Daerah Serian Bhd (Agriculture and agro-based industry category), Koperasi Pusaka Sarawak Berhad (Wholesale and retail category), and Koperasi Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Merbau Miri Berhad (School cooperatives category).
Also present were Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, Dato’ Henry Sum Agong, Assistant Minister of E-Commerce, Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment, Datu Len Talif Salleh and Assistant Minister of Corporate Affairs, Abdullah Saidol.
