Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof said this was deemed important after receiving feedback from cooperative movements which played an important role in the country’s economy.

“If agreed, the ministry’s name will be amended by this month.

“After this, it will be known as the entrepreneur development and cooperatives ministry (Medac),” he told reporters after launching the “Towards Shared Prosperity and Five Strategic Thrusts of the Co-operative Institute of Malaysia” programme here today.

Redzuan said it was time for the rebranding as there were requests from the 6.1 million members under 14,237 cooperatives across the country.

“The rebranding exercise was felt necessary as many are unclear on the ministry in charge of cooperatives.

“This will also give them greater visibility and stimulation to be more relevant contributors in the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment,” he said.