Urgent action needed as Sarawak to be aged state by 2028, says minister

THE Sarawak government is taking concrete steps to formulate policies to ensure adequate care for those aged 60 and above in this vast state.

State Minister for Women, Community Wellbeing and Early Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said new policies need to be drawn up fast as Sarawak will be categorised as an aged state by 2028.

"At least 16 per cent of the state population will be aged 60 and above by 2028.

"There are currently not enough facilities and programmes in Sarawak to ensure adequate care for our senior citizens.

"We must overcome these weaknesses by drawing up specific policies on community care for senior citizens," she said at a public event in Kuching.

The young generation of Sarawakians is not getting hitched quickly enough, not making babies at the pace of previous generations and their fertility is also on the downside, she said.

To add to this dilemma, the number of Sarawakians hitting the 60-year-old "senior citizen" mark is at a high number every year.

She said all these have made Sarawak the fastest ageing state in Malaysia.

"My ministry is looking at these prevailing situations seriously as we need to prepare our people to care for a population with more seniors every year.

"Right now, our senior citizens aged 60 and above already make up 15 per cent of the state population and by 2028, we expect the figure to double.

"To make things more worrying is that young Sarawakians are not getting married at the rate of previous generations,” she said.

She said the number of babies in Sarawak annually was about 40,000 previously.

"Now, the number of new babies yearly has reduced to only about 20,000 in Sarawak.

"The fertility level is on the decline too," she added.

Fatimah said her ministry is liaising with Swinburne University, Universiti Sarawak Malaysia and Curtin University to conduct a comprehensive census on the population composition and to work out detailed planning to care for more aged people every year.

Her ministry wants to also study the measures being taken by governments of developed countries to care for the elderly.

Sarawak needs to introduce such measures into its community planning without delay, she added.

Sarawak has a population of some three million people, with about a million living in the rural districts. - October 22, 2024