MEDIUM- and long-term socio-economic development plans to establish an agenda for ageing nation by 2030 will be implemented by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) under the Prime Minister’s Department.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said the work on the agenda will be supported by relevant ministries and all stakeholders in line with the whole-of-nation approach.

“The purpose of this agenda is to further strengthen the country’s preparation to deal with an ageing population as a whole,” he told reporters after launching the Subnational Statistics of State Legislative Assembly and Key Findings Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 in Jeli today.

“The impact of the ageing nation spans various sectors and is focused on not only the care and welfare of the elderly but also the challenges in health, education, finance, productivity and labour as well as the use of technology that will determine long-term and sustainable economic growth.”

Also present were Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob and Census 2020 commissioner Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

Mustapa, who is also Jeli MP, said the impact of an ageing nation depended on the extent to which a country is prepared to deal with it, adding that the government has taken steps to address the matter since 1995.

“In addition to the National Policy for Older Persons (DWEN) and the Action Plan for Older Persons, the National Senior Citizens Advisory and Consultative Council has been established as a mechanism to monitor the effectiveness of all programmes and activities related to senior citizens to realise DWEN,” he said.

“This matter is spearheaded by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.”

He said the Key Findings Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 showed that 2.2 million people, or 6.8% of the country’s 32.4 million population, were aged 65 and above, an increase from 1.4 million people in 2010.

“Perak recorded the highest percentage of the elderly population with 8.9% in 2020, followed by Perlis and Kedah (both 7.9%) and Sarawak (7.5%),” he added. – Bernama, May 29, 2022.