23.1 Provisions have been made in most laws for offenses and penalties. In the Indian Multi-State Law, it is the separate chapter XIII, Articles 96 and 97. In Indonesia Chapter 14 (Articles 55 and 56), in the Philippines Article 124, in Sri Lanka Article 72, in Malaysia Article 91, in Japan Chapter VI, Articles 99 to 102, and in South Korea Articles 173–175, deal with penalties and offenses. These provisions relate mostly to cooperatives, their officials (both elected and paid), members etc. However, in the Philippines, even the public officials interfering with the internal working of a cooperative have been included under the regulations on offence. This provision is to discourage political and bureaucratic interference in the work of cooperatives, which is not uncommon in many countries and is worth consideration by other countries.
