Serian cooperatives among the best in nation

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KUCHING: Cooperatives from Bidayuh villages in Serian are now recognised as among the best in the country, said Malaysia Cooperatives Commission (SKM) Sarawak senior assistant director Jaya Suria Muss.

He singled out Koperasi Bunan Berhad and Koperasi Mongkos Berhad as among those which continued to win accolades and endorsements from the federal government.

“The key element for their success is the close cooperation among members and the board, as well as good working relationship with the government agencies. When the federal agencies see the people can work together in the cooperative, we will support them,” he told the media after launching the Borneo Dayak Costumes, Handicraft & Souvenirs Centre yesterday.

The centre is operated by Koperasi Bidayuh Kuching Berhad (Kobib) at the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) headquarters here.

Earlier in his speech, Jaya Suria said the successes of Koperasi Bunan and Koperasi Mongkos could be used as benchmark by the other cooperatives.

He pointed out that Koperasi Bunan was even appointed as the entry point programme (EPP) for Coop 1Malaysia (Coop 1M) brand products and the wholesaler to other cooperatives, while Koperasi Mongkos is now renowned for its homestay programme.

“Nowadays, just mention Koperasi Bunan and the whole of Malaysia knows about it. The same goes for Kampung Mongkos, since its homestay programme is among the best and continues to receive support from the Tourism Ministry,” he said.

He also encouraged cooperatives in the state to apply for revolving funds made available by SKM, which can be vital towards the business expansion of the cooperatives.

On another note, he advised the cooperatives against committing financial fraud or abusing the funds given to them.

He revealed that in the peninsula, there have been many financial fraud cases in cooperatives.

“SKM can act as prosecutor in such cases. There have been many such cases in the peninsula. Thankfully, there are not many cases in Sarawak and we hope it will stay that way,” he said.

Among those present yesterday were DBNA vice-president Boniface Anat, Kobib chairman Andrew Joris Noyen and the centre’s organising chairman Ambrose Dango.