Angkasa Heading Towards Digital Era - Abdul Fatah

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa) is currently in the final stages of negotiations to invest in a local digital bank, following its earlier shortlisting in the application for a digital banking licence in 2020.

Its president, Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah, said Angkasa was among 40 entities that applied for the licence and successfully made it to the shortlist of seven candidates.

"Unfortunately, out of the seven, only five were selected. Angkasa was not successful. We are currently in the final stages of negotiating with several financial institutions that have been awarded digital bank licences to acquire equity in one of them, Insya Allah," he said during an appearance as a guest on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme last night.

 Abdul Fattah, who is also the vice-president of the International Cooperative Alliance of Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) and president of the ASEAN Cooperative Organisation (ACO) said if this initiative materialises, it would transform the cooperative ecosystem, particularly in the area of financing, which has traditionally depended on commercial banks and credit cooperatives.

He said the time has come for cooperatives to be recognised as the third sector in the country's socio-economic development, alongside the private and government sectors.

Commenting on the progress of the cooperative movement in Malaysia, Abdul Fattah shared that as of December 31 last year, there were 7.2 million registered members with 16,284 cooperatives.

He expressed confidence that the number may have grown to around 17,000 cooperatives as of this month.

"Every year, the Cooperative Commission, the government agency responsible for registering cooperatives, registers at least 1,000 cooperatives. These cooperative members have great consumer influence and purchasing power," he said.

Abdul Fattah said that in recognition of the vital role played by cooperatives globally, the United Nations (UN) has declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives for the second time after 2012, with the theme 'Cooperatives Build a Better World'. 

 "If cooperatives are not important, the UN would not have dedicated another year to them,  and the theme conveys the message that cooperatives contribute to universal well-being across all levels of society,” he added.

He said that in Malaysia, July is the National Cooperative Month and this year, the celebration will be held at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), Ayer Keroh,  from July 25 to 27 July and is expected to be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdul Fattah also shared that Angkasa has been recognised as one of the vendors who made the Jualan Rahmah programme a success and has been entrusted by the government to implement the Sejati MADANI project

-- BERNAMA