IPOH: With the ageing population increasing in Perak, the state welfare department is preparing several programmes to ensure the well-being of the elderly, says state welfare department director Nor Tipah Majin.
Among the plans set up by the state government and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is the Age-Friendly City pilot initiative in Taiping. The initiative is based on the World Health Organisation’s Global Age-Friendly City Guide to make urban areas conducive to senior citizens.
“The project is a collaboration between the ministry, the state economy planning unit and United Nations Development Programme.
“We also have senior citizen centres (Pawe) that focus on health, recreational, learning and productive programmes. The centres involve the participation of the local communities with collaboration from various agencies and welfare volunteer associations,” she said.
According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census carried out by the Statistics Department, Perak tops the list of the five most populous states for those aged above 65.
About 8.9% of the state’s population is above 65, followed by Kedah and Perlis (both 7.9%), Sarawak (7.5%) and Selangor (6.9%).
Putrajaya tops the list with the most populous states for those aged between 0 to 14 years (38%) and Kuala Lumpur for those aged between 15 to 64 (73.5%).
In April last year, Perak local committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi said various projects, including construction, upgrading and repairing of structures and facilities.
Nor Tipah said for now, there are about nine elderly homes under the state welfare department, adding that information about the elderly in the state can be accessed via the National Elderly System (E-Wen).