Co-op shops to offer 100 basic necessities

Wholesale and retail centres are to be set up to supply basic necessities.

ALOR GAJAH: Wholesale and retail centres are to be set up nationwide to provide 100 basic necessities, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Redzuan Yusof said today.

He said the efforts to establish the centres received cooperation from 3,000 cooperative outlets under the Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) and they would be built in stages.

He said thus far, the infrastructure to support the opening of wholesale and retail centres, either offline or online, was being developed and would be launched in every state in the near future.

“The programme, called BA100, has created an awareness that the people are in dire need of support and assistance especially to lower the cost of essential goods and to reduce the people’s cost of living.

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Redzuan Yusof at a coop event in Melaka today. (Bernama pic)

“Thus, the cooperatives under Angkasa have been entrusted by the government to implement this programme especially for the B40 group by making some improvements,” he told reporters after launching the BA100 Fair Price Cooperative Bazaar programme at Masjid Tanah here today.

The BA100 programme, which is based on e-commerce, will offer demand-driven supply of 100 basic necessities to the people across the country, in an effort to reduce prices of goods through bulk purchases and efficient distribution facilities.

The BA100 has the support of the government and is jointly organised by the Malaysian Co-operative Societies Commission and the Malaysian Cooperative Institute.

Redzuan said the initiative to establish wholesale and retail centres was also in line with the government’s efforts to expand the existing cooperatives’ operations or positions, particularly the small scale outlets, while reducing the role and involvement of middlemen in the marketing and supply chain of basic goods. - FMT