Building a Secured Society through HRD Efforts in Cooperatives MKM Professor Dr. Rosmimah Mohd Roslin Cooperative College of Malaysia

Secured Society depicted as…. A society that is free from social anxiety, fear of poverty, and able to sustain its economic standing How? Able to generate income Well trained to undertake specific income generating jobs Honing of business acumen

Secured society through: A more equitable distribution of income The propensity to consume Self sustaining Able to meet general standard of living This could only be done through well developed training programs in human resource development

HRD Efforts in Cooperatives Cooperatives are viewed as important vehicles for community development because they mobilize local resources into a critical mass and their structure allows them to be more community oriented (Wilkinson & Quarter, 1996) Co-ops are institutions of choice to bring economic opportunity to underserved areas.

HRD Efforts include: Education and Training Skill Building Programs Academic Programs Setting up of Cooperative Academic Institutions Skill Building Programs Vocational programs Business training skills

Cooperatives Contribution Estimates of the number of cooperatives and their impacts on the world economy vary widely, but their impact is extensive. It is estimated that approximately 800 million people worldwide are members of cooperatives, and another 100 million are employed by cooperatives (Schramm, 2007)

Economically, the cooperative business model has helped millions of low-income individuals in developing country improve their economic standing Providing security to the poor by converting individual risks to collective risks

Remote, rural regions, where most poor people live, tend to be less profitable for other forms of enterprises and unattractive to investors because of scattered and low levels of production, high transaction costs and long distances to market. Cooperatives allow entrepreneurs to overcome many of the market barriers that exist in developing countries

Democratically, co-op members learn firsthand the principles of democratic governance, transparency and member participation. Cooperative membership gives subsistence producers and other impoverished people a voice and a chance to take charge of their destinies.

This experience provides a sense of ownership of the local political process; it sets an example of organizational efficiency, transparency and accountability; and it creates a practical vehicle for conflict management through jointly vested interests.

Socially, co-ops increase trust and solidarity, leading to social well being and stability ,in some cases in the face of adverse conditions and conflict. Through development programs, cooperative members learn the relationship between serving their own needs and the viability of organizations

Well trained Cooperatives – A question of impact A Malaysian Experience

The Malaysian Experience – Cooperatives and Business Ventures Types of Projects Applications Received Applications Approved Numbers Amount (RM) 2010 2011 1. Services Contractual work 35 33 9,994,380 13,915,750 20 3,777,000 8,425,641 Retail 40 113 12,515,000 33,360,000 30 93 4,462,900 19,222,000 Finance 42 105 102,700,000 257,000,000 25 61 42,548,500 109,507,000 Transportation 26 25,624,206 18,413,298 24 17 23,463,486 4,415,842 Tourism/Health 2 8 992,435 1,968,000 - 4 811,036 2. Agriculture 28 40,502,067 27,123,600 18 22 18,188,300 13,786,900 3. Construction 62 75 47,926,32 98,502,777 50 52 25,648,539 40,808,905 4. Manufacturing 1 3 1,800,000 10,150,000 50,000 Total 241 395 242,054,417 460,433,425 167 283 118,088,725 197,027,326

Impact of Business Ventures In the year 2010 Year of Loan Application Number of members Frequency Percentage (%) Less than 100 members 15 7.4 18 8.8 100 - 300 members 41 20.1 49 24.0 301 - 500 members 47 23.0 45 22.1 More than 500 members 101 49.5 92 45.1 Capital Share Less than RM10K 8 3.9 19 9.3 RM10K-RM50K 27 13.2 RM51K-RM100K 23 11.3 More than RM100K 158 77.5 135 66.2 Assets of Cooperatives Less than RM50 K 13 6.4 40 19.6 RM50 K-RM100 K 22 10.8 RM101 K-RM500 K 50 24.5 42 20.6 More than RM500K 123 60.3 100 49.0 Allocation for Members’ Welfare Funds Less than RM10 K 105 51.5 125 61.3 RM10 K-RM50 K RM51 K – RM100 K 29 14.2 More than RM100 K 20 9.8 16 7.8 Dividend Allocation Dividend not allocated 66 32.4 82 40.2 Dividend allocated 138 67.6 122 59.8

Contemporary community development paradigms encourage communities to rely on their internal resources (human, social, environmental, financial, and physical) to solve community problems.

The willingness of people to cooperate and trust is a fundamental building block in a cooperative development strategy. Communities that are well trained in specific skills are more likely to be self sustaining economically.

References Schramm, S. G.(2007). Cooperatives: Pathways to Economic, Democratic and Social Development in the Global Economy, www.ocdc.coop. [Accessed 18 October, 2012] Wilkinson, P. and Quarter, J. (1996). Building a Community-Controlled Economy: The Evangeline Co-operative Experience. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press.