Malaysia

Responding to challenges and existing knowledge gaps facing the cooperative movement, this mapping research seeks to provide exhaustive information on cooperatives worldwide. This is achieved through a process jointly conducted by the ICA and its four regional offices – Cooperatives of the Americas, Cooperatives Europe, ICA Africa, and ICA Asia-Pacific – using a common methodology. Each office collected the input of ICA members present in the countries within its geographic area, by using the same questionnaire, and completing it with relevant national statistics, in order to obtain an accurate picture of the national situation. Mapping out cooperatives in each country provides a more precise picture of the cooperative context at national and regional levels, enhances the movement's visibility, networking, partnerships opportunities, as well as advocacy, and empowers cooperators by providing them tools for positive change.

This webpage presents a snapshot of the research results for Malaysia. For more information, you can download the full report and the highlights here.

The cooperative movement in Malaysia had its roots in addressing the problem of indebtedness in rural areas in the early twentieth century. Over time, they have become an important pillar in advancing economic growth in Malaysia. The government sees cooperatives as a crucial vehicle, along with the public and private sector, to drive and boost economic development and growth. In 2017, Malaysia’s UN Voluntary National Review Report to the High-Level Political Forum recognised the role of cooperatives in enhancing food security (Sustainable Development Goal 2). In 2019, cooperatives were placed under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development. 

ICA has three members from Malaysia.

• ANGKASA (Malaysian National Cooperative Movement)
• National Land Finance Cooperative Society Ltd. 
• Cooperative Institute of Malaysia

In Malaysia, the data presented is for the reference year 2019.

Summary

ICA members represent 14,417 cooperatives in the country, with 6,046,031 members. Cooperatives are present across diverse sectors in Malaysia including consumer, services, agricultural, credit, and transportation, among others.