Cooperatives should expand involvement in business beyond retail - Noh

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Cooperatives have been encouraged to further expand their scope of involvement in other business areas besides retail, said Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, Tan Sri Noh Omar.

Citing the example of Koperasi Sahabat Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia Berhad (Koop Sahabat), which has successfully expanded its business with the opening of Klinik Sahabat, he hoped that similar steps would be emulated by other cooperatives.

“All the while, the community may have seen cooperatives always involved in the retail sector, but this is the first time we have a cooperative that has successfully established a medical clinic.

“We also hope that, with the opening of this clinic, the cooperative will get involved in various business fields, and if possible reach the international level and be able to compete with the private sector,” he told reporters after officiating the Klinik Sahabat.

Klinik Sahabat is a medical clinic under the management of Koop Sahabat's subsidiary, Sahabat Ikhtiar Healthcare Sdn Bhd (SIHSB).

Meanwhile, Sahabat Koop board chairman, Mohd Najib Mohd Noor, is targeting as many as five branches of Klinik Sahabat in the Klang Valley, Sabah and Sarawak, with an estimated revenue of RM6.5 million, to be opened by the end of next year.

-- BERNAMA