SCHOOL CO-OPERATIVE DAY CELEBRATION BEGINS

The 2nd School Co-operative Day celebrations will begin tomorrow.
The opening ceremony for the School Co-operative Day celebration will be officiated by Dato’ Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister of Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Hababa, Kota Tinggi, Johor, on the 17th of June, 2007.
After delivering his inaugral speech, Dato Hishammuddin will officially present the, “Pendidikan Sains Dalam Al-Quran,” encyclopedia to the principal of SMK Tun Hababa. Subsequently, more sets of the ANGKASA sponsored encyclopedia will be donated to various school across the country which were worst hit by recent floods.
Besides the speech by the Dato’ Hishammuddin, special messages by Dato’ Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Minister of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MeCD) and Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz, President of ANGKASA, will be read during the ceremony.
Due to the success of the celebration last year, requests for participation by school co-operatives nationwide was very encouraging. More than 800 schools from all parts of Malaysia will select one day in the week beginning 17th- 23rd June, 2007 to organise their own activity programs which will include the involvement of the entire student body, teachers, and the surrounding community

SCHOOL CO-OPERATIVE DAY CELEBRATION BEGINS

The 2nd School Co-operative Day celebrations will begin tomorrow.
The opening ceremony for the School Co-operative Day celebration will be officiated by Dato’ Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister of Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Hababa, Kota Tinggi, Johor, on the 17th of June, 2007.
After delivering his inaugral speech, Dato Hishammuddin will officially present the, “Pendidikan Sains Dalam Al-Quran,” encyclopedia to the principal of SMK Tun Hababa. Subsequently, more sets of the ANGKASA sponsored encyclopedia will be donated to various school across the country which were worst hit by recent floods.
Besides the speech by the Dato’ Hishammuddin, special messages by Dato’ Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Minister of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MeCD) and Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz, President of ANGKASA, will be read during the ceremony.
Due to the success of the celebration last year, requests for participation by school co-operatives nationwide was very encouraging. More than 800 schools from all parts of Malaysia will select one day in the week beginning 17th- 23rd June, 2007 to organise their own activity programs which will include the involvement of the entire student body, teachers, and the surrounding community

What is a co-operative?

A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

Co-operatives are enterprises that put people at the centre of their business and not capital. Co-operatives are business enterprises and thus can be defined in terms of three basic interests: ownership, control, and beneficiary. Only in the co-operative enterprise are all three interests vested directly in the hands of the user. Co-operatives put people at the heart of all their business. They follow a broaderset of values than those associated purely with making a profit. Because co-operatives are owned and democratically-controlled by their members (individuals or groups and even capital enterprises) the decisions taken by co-operatives balance the need for profitability with the needs of their members and the wider interests of the community.Co-operatives are also enterprises that follow a set of principles and values - The Co-operative Principles. The Co-operative Identity Statement elaborated in 1995 by the ICA is the internationally recognised definition of the co-operatives, its values, and principles.

Hari Koperasi Sekolah 2007, 17 Hingga 23 Jun

Koperasi Sekolah merupakan elemen penting untuk melahirkan pelajar-pelajar yang mempunyai jatidiri yang terpuji melalui kegiatan-kegiatan yang dijalankan berlandaskan nilai dan prinsip koperasi. Untuk memberi kesedaran kepada masyarakat tentang pentingnya Koperasi Sekolah, ANGKASA menganjurkan Perayaan Hari Koperasi Sekolah pada tahun 13 Ogos 1995. Sejak dari tarikh tersebut, Perayaan ini disambut setiap tahun.
Berbagai-bagai aktiviti dijalankan sempena HKS. Antaranya ialah pertandingan kuiz, petanq, melukis, menulis esei dan seminar. Pertandingan kuiz Koperasi Sekolah telah bermula sejak 1991 lagi. Memandangkan pertandingan kuiz ini mendapat sambutan yang menggalakkan, ANGKASA menjadikannya sebagai aktiviti tetap semasa sambutan HKS. Pertandingan ini menguji keupayaan pelajar sejauh mana pengetahuan mereka tentang koperasi. Acara Pantun dan Pidato juga dipertandingkan semasa pertandingan kuiz HKS ini.
Dalam tahun 1995 juga, ANGKASA menawarkan hadiah lawatan ke luar negara kepada pelajar terbaik pertandingan kuiz. Pada tahun itu, tiga orang pelajar telah dihantar ke Manchester manakala pada tahun-tahun berikutnya dua orang pelajar mengikuti lawatan ke negara Jepun (1996, 2000, 2002 dan 2003), Switzerland, Bangkok, Canada, Korea, Singapura dan Indonesia. Bagi pasukan Johan Pertandingan Kuiz dan Petanq, mereka dibawa lawatan ke Negara ASEAN seperti Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand dan Singapura di samping hadiah sebuah komputer peribadi bagi pasukan kuiz dan sebuah gelanggang petanq bagi pasukan petanq.
Perkembangan yang begitu menggalakkan untuk sambutan HKS ini dapat dilihat melaiui penyertaan dalam pertandingan-pertandingan yang dianjurkan. Atas sokongan pihak Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia dan permintaan daripada pihak koperasi sekolah, HKS dianjurkan di peringkat zon dan negeri. Pada tahun 2005, lebih daripada 4884 orang daripada 1221 buah koperasi sekolah telah menyertai HKS di peringkat zan dan negeri manakala 1335 orang daripada 156 buah koperasi sekolah telah menyertai HKS peringkat Kebangsaan di Kelana Jaya.
ANGKASA meneliti dan mengkaji cara penganjuran dan kesan sambutan HKS. Memandangkan bilangan koperasi sekolah ahli ANGKASA adalah 1473 buah dan bilangan keanggotaan melebihi 1.5 juta orang, penyertaan 4884 orang dalam tahun 2005 adalah terlalu kecil iaitu kurang daripada satu peratus.
Berbagai usaha penerangan telah dilakukan untuk menarik minat lebih banyak sekolah untuk menyertai HKS dan dengan itu 2006 merupakan tahun di mana HKS telah membuat satu perubahan besar dari segi penganjurannya. HKS disambut di peringkat sekolah dengan tujuan utama untuk mencanangkan kewujudan dan peranan koperasi sekolah serta menggembleng penyertaan menyeluruh meliputi pelajar, guru, kakitangan, PIBG dan masyarakat setempat.
Hasilnya 920 buah koperasi sekolah ahli ANGKASA seluruh negara telah menyambut HKS dengan berbagai acara dan kegiatan. Menunjukkan Hari Koperasi Sekolah telah diterima diperingkat sekolah. Semoga sambutan Hari Koperasi Sekolah 2007 akan berjaya seperti tahun-tahun sebelumnya.

"Co-operative Values and Principles for Corporate Social responsibility"

This year the theme of the International Day highlights the fact that cooperatives are by their very nature enterprises that balance or integrate economic, environmental, and social imperatives while at the same time addressing their members and member expectations, stakeholder expectations and thus promote "corporate social responsibility" or CRS.

International Day of Co-operatives

85th ICA International Day of Co-operatives th UN International Day of Cooperatives 137 July 2007 !¡ãCo-operative Values and Principles fr Corporate Social Responsibility!¡À The theme for this year!¡¥s Internationl Day of Co-operatives on 7 July is !Co-operative Values and Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility!¡À. It celebrates the contribution cooperators have and continue to make as responsible corporate citizens in co-operatives throughout the world. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seeks to address the issue of how businesses can better society through responsible behaviour, transparent reporting and accountability, stakeholder engagement, innovation and governance. While there is no universally agreed definition of CSR, it is generally understood to encompass voluntary actions that go beyond legal obligations in the areas of: community development; environmental protection; human and labour rights. CSR is not a new discovery for co-operatives. Since their inception they have realised that their actions affect a wide range of stakeholders, including employees, the community and environment in which they operate. In many ways, the co-operative movement has been the pioneer in the development and practice of CSR.

BE THE BEST COOPERATOR

THE establishment of the proposed Malaysia Co-operative Commission should enable co-operatives in the country to give better returns to members, as well as safeguard their interests.
Several backbenchers said the commission should also give co-operatives more bite.Debating the Malaysia Co-operatives Societies Commission Bill 2006, Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) said co-operatives have strayed from their original objectives and were no longer concerned with protecting members’ interests. Mohd Said said, previously, fishermen’s co-operatives helped members purchase outboard engines and nets at cost price. However, this was no longer the case."The co-operative set up a tour agency. What for? They are supposed to help their members but this is not a priority for them," he said.
"I don’t know of any fishermen from Kinabatangan who want to go to America."He said although it was not illegal for co-operatives to venture into other businesses, priority should always be for the welfare of members."This is why I hope the commission will finally be a harimau yang ada kuku, yang ada gigi (tiger with claws and fangs)," he said.There are more than 5,000 co-operatives in the country, with around 5.2 million members. Datuk Mohamad Shahrum Osman (BN-Lipis) said the decline of co-operatives was due to the constant changes to their boards of directors as well as poor management that forced some co-operatives to auction off their assets.Salahudin Ayub (Pas-Kubang Kerian) expressed hope that the commission would put Malaysian co-operatives on par with co-operatives in Japan."Japanese co-operatives are well run and are major contributors to the economy." Datuk Maadius Tangau (BN-Tuaran) suggested that all members of the co-operatives’ boards of directors, as well as ordinary members, attend a mandatory course to understand the principles and laws related to the co-operative movement.Replying to points raised by members, Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin said the ministry was aware of weaknesses within the co-operatives."The commission will address all matters with relevant legislation to empower the commission to monitor the administration of co-operatives."

source : http://www.nst.com.my/