KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — The Cooperative Societies Act 1993 will be amended, with 96 original provisions to be restructured.
Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the draft amendment, which is being prepared, will be brought to the Cabinet before it is tabled in Dewan Rakyat next year.
“We expect as many as 200 new amendments (provisions) to be included in the act involving basic matters that have been agreed upon.
“These amendments are made to strengthen regulatory elements and ensure cooperative legislation remains relevant to the current economic environment,” he said at a press conference after chairing the National Cooperative Consultative Council (MPKK) Meeting Number 2/2024 here today.
Ewon said among the main provisions to be included in the act are on the liberalisation of cooperative business, and governance, including in terms of regulating cooperatives registration.
He said the draft amendment was made based on the recommendations of agencies under the ministry through a survey conducted previously.
“After this, we will engage with cooperatives across the country to get their acceptance of this proposal before we take it to Parliament to be tabled,” he said.
Earlier, he chaired the MPKK meeting, which was attended by Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission chief executive officer Datuk Rusli Jaafar and heads of agencies under the ministry, who witnessed the presentation of several papers, including the proposed draft of the act.
The meeting, he said, focused on determining the direction of development of the national cooperative movement and aimed to improve cooperation between the federal and state governments.
Meanwhile, Ewon said the launch of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, which was organised by Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd, will be held in December.
“We hope that during this year’s celebrations, many events can be implemented, including the National Cooperative Day, which we will hold in Melaka.
“Similarly, several conferences will include proposals to hold discussions involving Asean countries to see how regional cooperation can be empowered to develop cooperative communities, in accordance with our Asean chairmanship, which will be led by the Prime Minister,” he said.
He added that so far, there are 16,009 registered cooperatives in the country, with 455 of them new ones registered this year.
— Bernama
