DIVYA THERESA RAVI and SALMA FARIASU
28 Sept 2025
Plan to address needs of ageing population
By DIVYA THERESA RAVI and SALMA FARIASU newsdesk@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is set to launch the Senior Citizens Action Plan 2025 – 2030, a blueprint to tackle the nation’s ageing population with new strategies on healthcare, financial management and elder protection.
Social Welfare Department (JKM) deputy director-general Rosmawati Ishak said the new action plan will serve as a comprehensive roadmap to address the needs and challenges of an ageing population.
“Among the law strategies that have been introduced are to increase efforts to develop awareness on ageing issues, the rights of elderly and the financial abuse of the elderly,” she said at a conference organised by the Third Age Media Association Malaysia (TAMA).
She highlighted that many elderly still live in domestic abuse and abandonment, issues often shrouded in silence and stigma.
“We must raise this silence and confront the stigma. Seniors deeply feel the challenges faced by the elderly, so that none of them feel invisible, unheard or unprotected,” she said.
She noted that the legal framework is being streamlined, and that “most of the progress that comes from building a culture of awareness, compassion and respect, backed with policies that guarantee access to healthcare, housing and protection.”
Rosmawati called on society to see ageing not as a burden but as a victory, reminding younger Malaysians that “how we treat our elders today will reflect the society of tomorrow”.