KOTA KINABALU: The country’s economy, which was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, is now recovering after recording an encouraging growth rate of 8.7 percent in 2022.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the achievement was partly driven by the economic activities of the national cooperative movement, which now numbers 15,315 cooperatives.
According to him, the cooperative movement has successfully generated business revenue amounting to RM45.5 billion in 2022.
“The feat is a success for the national cooperative movement that has existed for over 100 years in our country,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said this after officiating the closing ceremony of the National Cooperative 2023 here today.
Also present was Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
Ahmad Zahid said the membership of the cooperative now reaches 7.3 million members with an accumulation of share capital and fees of RM16.5 billion.
“I see our community is increasingly interested in getting involved with cooperatives and making it one of the tools to help improve living standards through group activities,” he said.
He said that in the Government’s efforts to lead the country towards a high-income country by 2025, the country is faced with the issue of rising living costs.
“This issue is one of the big challenges that need to be addressed at this time,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid therefore expresses hope that the nation’s cooperative movement may play a significant role in supporting the government’s attempts to bring down the cost of essentials like sugar, flour, oil, poultry, and eggs.
