KOTA KINABALU April 17, 2026 – The government has approved financing amounting to RM93.9 million through the Tabung Modal Pusingan Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (TMPSKM) to 34 cooperatives in Sabah for the period 2022 to 2026.
Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister III cum Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said the allocation reflects the government’s continued commitment to strengthening the role of cooperatives as drivers of community economy.
“Based on a briefing from the Director of the Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM) Sabah, although the number of cooperatives receiving approval showed slight adjustments from 2022 to 2026, the value of financing disbursed continued to record an encouraging increase. This development reflects a focus on financing higher-impact and larger-scale projects, including an approval of RM4.4 million in 2026,” he said.
He said this after chairing the first meeting of the year for the Sabah State Cooperative Consultative Council (MPKN) here today.
Ewon, who was appointed as the new Chairman of MPKN Sabah replacing Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe effective 2 February, expressed appreciation to the Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP), Steven Sim Chee Kong, for the appointment.
“I will chair the council’s meetings more frequently so that joint efforts in developing the cooperative movement can be mobilised more effectively, especially those involving the Sabah Government,” he said.
He emphasised that the MPKN Sabah meeting is highly significant as a platform to examine and elevate cooperative issues at the state level before they are brought to the National Level Cooperative Consultative Council Meeting (MPKK).
“MPKN serves as a platform for discussing state cooperative issues and development, coordinating cooperation among stakeholders, and proposing improvements to cooperative programmes and policies, including training and development programmes,” he added.
At the Ministry of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport (MINDET) level, initial initiatives have been taken to amend the scope of assistance under the Minister’s Special Entrepreneur Development Fund to also cover the cooperative movement.
MPKN Sabah has 28 members comprising State Cabinet Members, representatives from ministries and agencies including KUSKOP, as well as representatives from the cooperative movement.
Meanwhile, SKM Sabah Director Awg Ruslli Mohammad said the cooperative sector in Sabah continues to show encouraging development from 2021 to 2025, with significant increases in the number of cooperatives, membership, capital, and overall economic generation.
The number of cooperatives rose from 1,652 in 2021 to 2,047 in 2025, with the most notable surge between 2023 and 2024 when 196 new cooperatives were registered.
During the same period, cooperative membership increased steadily from 339,312 to 388,683 members. Cooperative share capital nearly doubled from RM56.79 million to RM104.34 million, while annual fee collections rose from RM161.78 million to RM184.30 million.
Sabah cooperative assets surpassed the RM1 billion mark in 2024 and reached RM1.172 billion in 2025, while annual revenue almost doubled from RM470.84 million in 2021 to RM913.33 million in 2025.
For assistance applications, 72 cooperatives received allocations totalling RM4.96 million from 2023 to 2025. Geographically, Kota Belud received the highest allocation of RM305,000, or 86.4 percent of the total assistance, followed by Penampang with RM48,000.
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