HELP IMPROVE STRENGTH OF COOPERATIVES

By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

MUAR: Smallholders cooperatives here have been urged to increase their memberships to ensure greater income among its members especially villagers involved in the farming sector.

Bakri Barisan Nasional division chairman Datuk Saipolbahari Suib said the smallholders cooperatives or Kopmaju should also focus on helping the members to improve productivities.

Speaking at the Muar Ledang Kopmaju’s Hari Raya open house here, he said the cooperative has business potentials which the farmers could participate and gain.

“We have about 4,000 farmers in Bakri and Muar who have become members of Kopmaju and their shares are about RM2mil.

Kind aid: Saipolbahari (left) presenting cash and gifts to a woman villager while Muar Kopmaju chairman Mat Jamari Sulaiman (centre) looks on.

“If we can have more farmers to join Kopmaju it can increase its financial strength and this allows it to venture into more businesses,” he said in Kampung Sri Tanjung recently.

Saipolbahari, who is also a successful cattle breeder, said besides buying farmer’s produces such as palm oil and latex, the cooperative could also venture into the property market.

He said it could advise the farmers on profitable agro-related businesses and focus on helping them on ways to improve productivity.

Ealier, Muar Kopmaju’s chairman Mat Jamari Sulaiman said the cooperative had set up seven palm oil weighing centres in the district.

He said the centres bought 6,000 tonnes of palm oil seeds valued at about RM3mil every month from its members in the district.

“Since the price of the commodity has increased lately and it now fetches about RM500 per tonne, we urge other smallholders to become Kopmaju members.

“They will receive all the facilities provided by Kopmaju and can sell their seeds and latex at our weighing centres,” he added.

In conjunction with the Hari Raya open house the cooperative body also presented cash aid and gifts to six villagers in Kampung Sri Tanjung who will be leaving for Mecca to perform their Haj this month.

SOURCE: THE STAR, OCTOBER 5, 2010