Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (KUSKOP) is actively strengthening efforts to revive inactive cooperatives nationwide through immediate intervention and proposed consolidation. Deputy Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin emphasized the importance of this initiative to ensure these cooperatives remain competitive and avoid shutdown.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, as of 2025, more than 30 per cent of the total 16,468 national-level cooperatives have been identified as inactive. Mohamad expressed his concern about reactivating these cooperatives and requested the Malaysia Cooperative Societies Commission of Malaysia (SKM) to conduct ground interventions.

One proposed strategy is the merger of weaker cooperatives to enhance operations through shared resources and capacity. This approach aims to increase business scale in terms of products, share capital, and collective liability management.

Mohamad identified weak management and excessive reliance on government assistance as primary reasons for cooperatives becoming inactive. He highlighted the need for appointing professionals to cooperative boards to ensure efficient governance and sustainability.

The total number of registered cooperatives in the country stands at 16,468, with a membership of 7.3 million people as of December 31, 2025. The sector has recorded revenue of RM81.62 billion, with total assets valued at RM186.75 billion.

In Sabah, there were 2,047 cooperatives with 389,000 members, generating revenue of RM913.33 million and holding assets exceeding RM1.2 billion for the same period.