Stop Scrounging Funds from the Cooperative Movement

By Thuraisingham Shun (Cooperative and Management Consultant and Advisor to the Co-operative Union of Malaysia and the Midlands Co-operative Union of Malaysia)

Whilst the authorities are having a gala time expending contributions to the Education Trust Fund and the Cooperative Development Trust Fund in millions over the year, greed has set in to scrounge more funds from the Cooperative sector.

It is a free-for-all with no transparency or accountability to the contributors, the Malaysian Cooperative fraternity, the august organisation of the middle and lower income group.

New draconian laws have been enacted to compel contributions to the following funds:

( a ) The Cooperative Central Fund
( b ) The Cooperative Development Account
( c ) The Cooperative Societies’ Liquidation fund
( d ) The Cooperative Central Liquidity Fund

With an open-ended option for the Malaysian Cooperative Commission to compel Cooperatives to contribute to any other funds decided upon by the Malaysian Cooperative Commission. The irony is that these funds are to be managed by its agents.

Over and above Cooperative laws have been enacted to forcefully contribute a percentage of their subscribed share capital to the Cooperative Commission and its agents to manage. Is there no avenue for redress from these draconian laws?

SOMEWHERE some MAD MEN have been let loose.