KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — A total of 214 applications from cooperatives have been approved for participation in the Prihatin Rakyat Cooperative Sales (JKPR) Programme as of Dec 31 last year, involving an allocation of over RM2.5 million, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar said the JKPR programme was a sales incentive or subsidy for cooperatives that carried out retail activities to reduce the price of daily basic necessities, such as sugar, flour, cooking oil, rice and eggs.
“This programme is also, among others, to encourage the people to spend and purchase daily basic necessities at cooperative shops offering affordable prices compared to local markets,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time.
He said this when replying to a question by Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling), who wanted to know the measures taken and role played by the ministry in efforts to enable the cooperative movement to help address the rising cost of living and prices of essential goods.
On March 30 last year, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) launched the Malaysian Cooperative Transformation Plan 2021-2025 (TransKoM) as a strategic document outlining transformation measures to empower the cooperative movement in the country.
Meanwhile, to help address the issue of rising goods prices, Noh said KUSKOP through the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM) also implemented the Supply Chain Empowerment for Cooperatives Programme (SCOPE) as an effort to ensure the consistent supply of consumer essential goods at affordable prices.
“Through this programme, cooperatives will play the role of a distribution centre or wholesaler that will make bulk purchases and then distribute the goods to retail stores that make up their network,” he said.
