An Overlooked Group

The Star Online

January 28, 2008

“Retirement at 65 is ridiculous. When I was 65 I still had pimples,” said George Burns, that famous geriatric who made a career out of telling jokes about old age.

Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew may leave references to teenage afflictions to the comedians, but he certainly makes no bones about his shared sentiment. “Retirement means death,” he stressed in a dialogue session at the inaugural Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition (Sicex) in the city-state recently.

“With nothing to do, no purpose in life, you’ll just degrade, go to seed. The human being needs a challenge,” said the former prime minister who will turn 85 in September and shows no sign of slowing down.

Sicex 2008, primarily a product showcase for healthcare and wellness, travel and leisure, finance, and technology in the mature market, also brought to light the issue of population ageing.

Malaysia is not a particularly elderly country at present. The population aged 60 and above is currently under 7% . When it reaches 10%, the government will not be able to ignore its complex social and economic implications. And that, according to Department of Statistics projections, will happen in the next 15 years.

This change in the demographic profile is the result of better health, longer life expectancy, low mortality and declining fertility levels. Economic development, medical advances, accessibility to medical and social care, and knowledge of nutrition have also put more years into life.

While the country has made preparations, among them the National Policy for the Elderly 1995 and the creation of the National Senior Citizens’ Action Plan, besides financial allocations to voluntary organisations for the aged, we’re all aware that the years will fly by fast enough and the authorities need to establish more than a basic foundation before that threshold arrives.

When contacted, Lum Kin Tuck, president of the National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) and a member of the Government’s advisory body on the implementation of the 1995 policy, said “the implementation part of the policy’s objectives has been very weak”.

“There should be a special officer in charge,” he suggested. “At present, the person tasked with handling this matter has duties in other areas as well.”

Lum was unhappy that the consultative body on ageing issues does not meet regularly. “Meetings should be held at least twice a year, not at random as they do now.”

Unlike developed countries with a large middle class, the problem of ageing in Malaysia is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of those over 60 are in the lower-income group. It is thus imperative to tackle the issue aggressively.

“Unlike before, more and more older people know they cannot depend on their children to care for them,” said Lum. “And even if the children are willing, very often they just don’t have the financial means to do so as they are poor. That’s why I hope the government takes up Nacscom’s proposal for a RM300 social pension for the needy.”

One of the points made at Sicex 2008 is that we should not be thinking about providing the elderly with basic needs, but rather enhancing their quality of life. The traditional definition of old as being ill, poor and alone is no longer applicable to the majority within this group.

Active ageing is the name of the game these days – and more than ever, it has become a female sport.

“Women live longer and the majority of baby boomers are women. They still do the shopping and make the decisions at home, so businesses have to pay special attention to that,” said Dr Joseph Coughlin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab.

“Ageing is a prime global market target across industries,” he added. “The 50-plus are lifestyle leaders of the future.”

According to research by MasterCard, consumer spending by this group in Asia will rise to US$616bil (RM2tril) in 2013, three times higher than in 2005.

Baby boomers have always pioneered trends and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. You can bet these ageing hipsters won’t stop till they drop.

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