Malaysia needs funded plan with measurable targets for the elderly

 

YOURSAY | Ageing is inevitable. But it also needs preparation and support.

COMMENT | Ageing society: M'sia must act now

Koel: This article by academic R Thanaseelen is timely and urgent. The concerns were among many more raised by the UN rapporteur report published in 2024.

Yet, two years later, it appears that the various agencies that should be working on recommendations have failed to show any improvements.

One of the urgent concerns raised by the rapporteur is that Malaysia had around 68 geriatric specialists at the time of the report.

Whereas, according to international measures, the country should have at least 600. How has the Health Ministry addressed this need?

The report also noted access problems and discriminatory treatment in the public sector of older persons from minority or marginalised groups. So, what's new?

But why has the Health Ministry failed to look into opening up more polyclinics in burgeoning neighbourhoods?

In Petaling Jaya, residents are forced to go to private clinics, which have to keep raising their charges to cope with their rentals and other increasing expenses.

The Petaling Jaya polyclinics are few and far between. Neither the state nor the federal government has looked into opening these easy-to-access clinics for the people.

There were concerns raised also in the report about the lack of national standards for care and nursing homes.

The severe shortage of qualified and certified social workers was highlighted as a major concern.

These are people who should be out and about to identify vulnerable older persons and to ensure that they receive necessary assistance. Do we have any?

Malaysians and the government need to step up efforts to address gaps in ageing, already discernible in neighbourhoods we live in.

In many places, we see older persons, whether couples or individuals living alone and often with little help for their needs.

Has the government taken steps to understand how they are coping? Ageing is inevitable. But it also needs preparation and support.

Older persons are not discards of society; they are vital members of the population.

The government must address their needs, prepare them for changes in life, ensure they stay healthy and enable them to continue to be independent.

Apanama is back: Malaysia is a 70-year-old country that does not know its direction, is clueless, and is immersed in race and religion narratives daily.

Therefore, can anyone tell me how the country is going to "act now" on its own ageing citizens when it does not know how to take care of itself and where it is heading?

There is a policy paper by Penang Institute back in October 2022 titled, "A Sustainable Active Ageing Policy for Penang," which mentioned, "The implementation of active ageing policies and initiatives should prioritise the three components of: awareness, integration and sustainability, with cooperation and collaboration from relevant state departments, state agencies and other related organisations."

The policy paper never talks about legislation or artificial intelligence (AI). It suggests a more humane approach.

A sustainable environment for ageing citizens, through enhanced elderly-friendly infrastructure, improved access to affordable healthcare, and expanded opportunities in government programs, needs to be created.

It is also suggested that an institution or committee be established to address ageing-related issues and formulate initiatives to encourage active ageing.

Malaysia has all it needs to implement the above suggestions - no need for new laws or technologies.

PinkJaguar7289: The warning is right, but this article mistakes a list of fashionable solutions for an ageing policy.

South Korea’s official 2025 figure is 20.3 percent, not more than 21 percent, while Malaysia’s 2044 and 2056 dates are projections from a 2020 World Bank report, not fixed appointments with destiny.

More importantly, the article largely sidesteps the hardest question: how will older Malaysians live when many retire with very little EPF savings?

Passing laws, creating councils and inserting the words “ethical AI” will not produce one extra nurse, social worker, caregiver or ringgit of retirement income. The contract-doctor dispute also does not, by itself, prove an aged-care workforce shortage; that requires actual figures for geriatric, nursing and community-care capacity.

Malaysia needs a funded plan with measurable targets: retirement-income protection, trained caregivers, home and community care, support for family carers, suitable housing and jobs for those able to work longer.

Without budgets, staffing numbers and deadlines, “act now” is only a slogan. You cannot care for an ageing nation with legislation on paper and an app on the phone.

MS: Under normal circumstances, in a far-sighted country aspiring for the good of all, an article such as this would attract the attention of politicians and policy makers and stimulate healthy action-oriented discussion.

Malaysia, though, is a "special" country which continually makes the news for all the wrong reasons.

The news is invariably about burgeoning corruption, injustice towards minorities, cruelty towards animals, power abuse, shady deals, race-baiting, political backstabbing, freeing connected power brokers from criminal charges and, of course, the endless pontification about how some people and their beliefs are superior to others.

All of this points to unaddressed structural and ideological problems which collectively contribute to the steady decline in all measurable indices.

A country which has earned a reputation for routinely making wrong choices is not likely to seriously consider the threat of "the coming tsunami". Like a cat chasing its own tail, it is far too distracted by the troubles of its own making. - Mkini