The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (KUSKOP) has approved an allocation of RM650,000 for the upgrading of three Tamu Desa (village markets) in Mukim Lasou in Kota Belud. Its Minister, Datuk Ewon Benedick said that of the amount, RM250,000 would be for the upgrading of Tamu Kampung Takulung and RM200,000 each for Tamu Lompios and Tamu Lasou. "The upgrading of the community village markets is vital to providing comfort to small entrepreneurs in villages to market their agricultural produce and further improve the economy of the rural population,' he said in a statement today. Ewon, also the Kadamaian assemblyman, encouraged the farming community in Mukim Lasou to set up cooperatives to manage entrepreneurial activities and the economy of farmers in the village. He also provided a RM13,000 allocation under the Kadamaian State Legislative Assembly Sentuhan Kasih initiative to Kampung Lasou to purchase 200 chairs and install an electricity meter in the village hall that was built as a re sult of the efforts of the Kadamaian state constituency service centre several years ago. Meanwhile, he also contributed RM2,000 to the Dance and Culture Club, sponsored the registration of 100 youths in the mukim (sub-district) to open Employees Provident Fund accounts and contributed RM1,000 for the Maal Hijrah celebration tomorrow. Ewon also presented food baskets to 50 recipients of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM). Meanwhile, he said that a total of RM20 million had been allocated for Project Tamu Desa in Sabah and Sarawak this year, with RM7 million allocated under the first phase to upgrade 38 village markets in Sabah. Source: BERNAMA News Agency