Empowering Senior Citizens

By Sakini Mohd Said This final of a three-part article on ageing dives into the efforts of the Social Welfare Department to create a community of senior citizens who are independent and able to live with dignity by optimising their potentials. PUTRAJAYA, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's senior citizen demography is trending upwards, with the percentage of older persons nearing almost 20 per cent of the population by 2040, according to estimates by the Department of Statistics. Currently, 9.6 per cent (or 3.1 million people) of this nation's population of 32.3 million comprise senior citizens aged 60 and above. The figure is set to rise in the coming years due to the declining fertility rate among Malaysians and increase in the life expectancy. According to the department's projections for the period 2010 to 2040, the senior citizen population (age 60 to 74, and 75 and above) stood at 1.8 million and 0.5 million respectively in 2010. By 2040, the figures are expected to rise to 4.5 million and 1.8 million respectively. As reported earlier, Malaysia is set to become an ageing nation by 2035 when 15 per cent of its population are classified as senior citizens aged 60 and above. In line with the projected increase in its senior citizen numbers, the government has introduced two major policies to secure the well-being of older citizens. These are the National Policy and Action Plan for Older Persons introduced by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in 2011 and the National Health Policy and Action Plan for Older Persons introduced earlier in 2008 by the Ministry of Health. The two policies and action plans form the basis for the provision of services and facilities for senior citizens to enable them to live with dignity and continue to contribute to the development of the nation. NATIONAL ASSET While the National Policy for Older Persons is well and good and the Social Welfare Department (JKM), which is entrusted with ensuring the well-being of senior citizens, is committed to its execution, there is still widespread apathy among the people towards ageing and preparing for their lives after retirement. As JKM Senior Citizens director Azmir Kassim said, it has been very challenging for the department to make the people understand the risks that await them if they fail to prepare well for their golden years. "Their mentality is worrying us. They are not active and not making any preparations (for their senior years). "The problem is many people are hoping that their children will take care of them when they grow old and this is the reason they are not bothered about taking care of their health and planning for their retirement. But how sure are they that their children will take care of them?" he told Bernama in an interview. Concerned about the people's unpreparedness to deal with the realities of old age, Azmir said their mentality was a stumbling block to moulding senior citizens into a national asset as envisaged by the National Policy for Older Persons. Ideally, one has to start making preparations for one's sunset years at a young age by adopting an active lifestyle and having a positive frame of mind so that they do not become a burden to their families and communities after retirement. FIVE DIMENSIONS In its efforts to empower senior citizens to live with dignity and continue to contribute to the development of the nation, JKM is actively raising awareness through various media on the importance of making the necessary preparations for old age well ahead of retirement. This is also in line with the five-dimension framework of the National Policy for Older Persons that covers productive, supportive, healthy, positive and active ageing. "Currently, JKM is responsible for the care of (needy) senior citizens, similar to the care accorded to the poor and destitute and people who are incapable of managing on their own. We give them welfare aid like financial assistance and institutional care," said Azmir. He said the department hoped to cut down aid to senior citizens by encouraging them to practise a healthy lifestyle and prepare in advance for their retirement. "If possible, we want financial aid or institutional care only to be considered as a final resort," he said, adding that if the five dimensions under the National Policy for Older Persons are not met, it would increase the government's financial burden and lead to more people living in misery during their old age. ACTIVITY CENTRES Currently, senior citizens who have no fixed source of income nor a family to take care of them are given a monthly allowance of RM350. In 2017, such allowances totalled RM489 million, or 27.1 per cent of the welfare budget for that year. It was channelled to 136,062 senior citizens by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, through JKM. Azmir also said that as of May 2018, a total of 2,693 senior citizens were staying in nine institutions in various parts of the country that were run by JKM. "We foresee this number rising if the people continue to disregard the importance of planning for their old age as the number of senior citizens in our population is on the rise," he added. The ministry has also collaborated with non-governmental organisations to set up activity centres for senior citizens (PAWE) for their social integration and development. While the centres give senior citizens an opportunity to harness their potential, they also help the youths involved in their activities to become more aware of the importance of being active and healthy during their senior years. There are currently 59 such activity centres in the country, benefiting some 35,561 senior citizens. For this year, JKM has been allocated RM3 million to set up 30 new centres. Viewing PAWE's integration programmes as an effective medium to bring senior citizens and young people together, Azmir said: "Various activities are carried out jointly, such as health examinations, sporting events, learning of new skills, religious classes and so on. It can be said that these activities have succeeded in making senior citizens more productive." Translated and Edited by Rema Nambiar -- BERNAMA