IT'S NOW DOMESTIC TRADE, COOPERATIVE AND CONSUMERISM MINISTRY

KUANTAN (Malaysia), June 11 (Bernama) -- The Domestic Trade and Consumer
Affairs Ministry is now known as the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and
Consumerism.

Its minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in announcing this Thursday, said the name
change had been agreed by Prime Minister Najib Razak and the cabinet at their
weekly meeting Wednesday.

"The change was effective immediately (yesterday) and we will be using a new
logo for the ministry. For this purpose, a logo designing competition will be
organised soon," he said Thursday.

Ismail Sabri said the name change was made because a number of cooperative
related agencies which were previously under the Entrepreneur and Cooperative
Development Ministry which was then abolished, now came under his ministry.

He said with the abolishment, agencies connected with entrepreneur
development were placed under the International Trade and Industry Ministry,
while agencies that came under his ministry included Perbadanan Nasional,
Cooperative Commission of Malaysia, the Cooperative College and those related to
franchising and the vendor sector.

Ismail Sabri said the government targeted the contribution of cooperatives
to Gross Domestic Product to be five per cent or RM10 billion by 2012 from the
current RM6.5 billion. (US$1=RM3.49)
-- BERNAMA