Challenges of ageing and good health: Views from Malaysia Ask an older person in Malaysia whether she/he would prefer to stay in an aged care facility/residential community/‘old folks’ home’ or at home with family, the answer almost certainly will be: at home. The situation is generally no different throughout Asia. In most Asian countries, co-residing with an older relatives and providing aged care is part of the cultural tradition. The challenge for policy-makers is to find a balance between maintaining this tradition and grappling with rapidly changing social values – brought about by urbanisation, changing patterns of families into nuclear types, higher education, the changing role of women from caregivers to wage earners, better employment prospects, higher incomes and upward mobility – that increasingly gravitate towards expensive formal aged care programmes and facilities. In Malaysia, where state-provided protection for older people is lacking, the risk of crashing into poverty at the end of the stipulated working life is very real for a number of reasons. For a start, people live longer – life expectancy is 71.7 and 76.5 years for men and women, respectively – and require higher levels of medical care. Due to rapidly changing social conditions, extended family structures and traditional community supports are breaking down, leaving more old people to fend for themselves. By the year 2020, about ten per cent of the population will be over 60 years of age. There is an urgent need to look at policy frameworks that cater to the needs of older people. Various frameworks for ageing exist throughout the world, covering aspects such as longevity, physical health, activities of daily living, autonomy, psychological well-being, social relationships, work participation, financial security, housing, transport, safety, leisure activities, quality of life, age discrimination and attitudes. Current policies in almost all Asian countries, where they exist, focus on older persons remaining integrated in society. Singapore, which, according to World Bank data, has the highest proportion of older residents and the fastest ageing population in South-East Asia, is using a redistributive tax model, wherein the rich pay more through wealth and asset taxes to fund health care and elder care services. Malaysia has had a number of national policies for older people, the first of which was the National Social Welfare Policy (1990). This policy focused on families and communities as principal Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 29 Shila Kaur Most older people in Malaysia would prefer to be looked after by family members than live in a residential community Szefei / Shutterstock.com
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above