Awam Jamilah Din
Co-operative College of Malaysia
Cooperatives in Sarawak have been in existence since 1949 and have played their role as financial intermediaries by providing loans to members. These organisations constitute both business and social models that balance members' social and economic needs as their organizational objectives. However limited information is available about how these cooperatives operate, how they perform and what their future prospects are. This paper is based on a study undertaken by the Cooperative College of Malaysia (CCM) in 2006 on the profile of cooperatives and the profile of board members of cooperatives in Sarawak . A total of 393 board members from 131 selected cooperatives across 11 Divisions in Sarawak particiapted in the study. These cooperatives were voluntarily managed by the elected board members. The study indicated that the size of the members' share and profits are relatively small. The businesses of these cooperatives is confined to traditional activities like operating sundry shops and providing credit facilities. The chairman, secretary and treasurer of the cooperatives surveyed shared the same opinion with respect to the future business prospects of their cooperatives. This study also indicated that factors which determined the future prospects of cooperatives are members support, training and education for members and board members and, acquiring external financing.
Jamilah Din has been a trainer with the Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM) since 1985. Besides training, she has been involved in carrying out consultancies for co-operatives and conducted a number of research studies. Currently, she is the Head of Extension Services at CCM. She obtained her Ph. D. in Economics from University Putra Malaysia , Masters in Business Administration from University of Malaya and Bachelor in Business Administration from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia . She also holds a Diploma in Business Studies from Universiti Teknologi Mara.