Gov't Has No Plans To Change Bank Rakyat Status To Commercial Bank - Ewon

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plans to change the status of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Rakyat) from a cooperative bank to a commercial bank, says Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.

He said that for now, Bank Rakyat remained a cooperative bank and any decision to change its status would depend on its members as well as other procedures.

“It involves several levels of approval if it were to transition to a commercial bank, first through a general meeting of members, secondly, Bank Rakyat is also subject to the Central Bank of Malaysia Act under Bank Negara (BNM).

“In addition, part of the process would need to go through the Malaysia Co-operative Societies Commission (SKM). What I can confirm is that Bank Rakyat remains a cooperative bank... there are no plans yet in that direction (to convert into a commercial bank),” he said when winding up the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, reported Bernama.

He explained the matter after Dr Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) interjected to seek clarification regarding media reports on the intention of making Bank Rakyat a commercial bank.

Meanwhile, Ewon said the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry (KUSKOP) would establish a regulatory body and appropriate legal framework for the accreditation of social enterprises (SE) under Phase 2 of the Malaysia Social Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2029 (SEMy2030) for the 2026 to 2030 period.

He said the SE rating process had been introduced since 2019 and was still being implemented.

“As of August 2025, there are 520 business entities, including MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and cooperatives that have been accredited as SE under three levels, namely Accredited Social Enterprise (SE.Ac), Basic Social Enterprise (SE.B) and Tunas Social Enterprise (Tunas SE),” he said.

On veterans’ cooperatives, Ewon said that in 2024, a total of 82 veterans’ cooperatives were registered with SKM, involving 9,059 members, with accumulated share capital amounting to RM2.5 million, total assets of RM10.3 million and earnings valued at RM696,470.

At present, he said the existing veterans’ cooperatives were only on a micro scale, with business activities covering oil palm plantations, agriculture, rental, investment and services.

“In line with Cooperative Principles, KUSKOP and SKM have no objection if Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad intends to collaborate in sharing expertise and business operations,” he said.