M'sian Local Cooperatives Advised to Use ASEAN as Platform to Improve Services

PETALING JAYA (Selangor), Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Cooperatives in the country should look at markets in the region, particularly the ASEAN countries, as a platform to improve services and widen the local cooperative brand at the international level. ASEAN Cooperative Organisation (ACO) secretary-general Hanapi Suliman said this was in line with ACO's long-term goal of ensuring that every cooperative in the region made the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) a platform to integrate their movements. "Many cooperatives are now operating comfortably (in Malaysia), but there is a brighter future if they see ASEAN as a medium to market their products. "ACO will also start on some regional programmes and projects with specific agenda involving regional trade policies for the country's cooperative sector," he said when met by reporters at the ACO Annual Conference here Sunday. As such, Hanapi called on all local cooperatives to register with Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa or the Malaysian National Cooperative Movement) to enable them to participate in the global agenda. -- BERNAMA