KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali has welcomed the idea of senior daycare centres in the country, to ensure that the elderly can keep active and not lonely.
“We only have daycare centre for children, but we did not remember that the seniors also needed daycare centres for them to assemble and do activities.
“They’ll be lonely and did not have interest in doing anything but God willing, with the daycare [centre] many more will come out to support, I think this would be a great idea,” she said.
She was speaking at a Chinese New Year celebration at the Selangor King George V (SKGV) Old Folks Home’s Silver Jubilee Fund here.
Dr Siti Hasmah spent almost two hours enjoying yee sang and exchanging pleasantries with around 20 of the home’s residents together with Kasih Malaysia’s members and sponsors of SKGV including the Selangor state government, 99 Speedmart, Mohd Chan Restaurant and Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia.
Kasih Malaysia is a welfare and charity organisation formed by the wives of Pakatan Harapan ministers and deputy ministers in October 2018.
Among those presents are SKGV Jubilee Fund chief trustee Datuk Teng Chang Kim, Kasih Malaysia deputy chairman Datin Seri Shamshida Taharin, Yayasan Food Bank chief executive Abdul Wahab Long, and Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai.
The SKGV home has been operating since 1937, and is supported by the Selangor government.
In addition to running a full-time old folks’ home especially for women for more than 83 years, SKGV have also recently finished its daycare centre for the elderly.
SKGV Jubilee Fund trustee exco chairman Datuk Seri Yong Seng Yeow said the centre is ready to operate once enough people have signed in.
“Once we get enough people to come and participate, we will proceed.
“We are going to open from 7am to 7pm for elderly to socialises together will our residents at the home,” he told Malay Mail.
Yong said there are currently six full-time staff and 10 volunteers running the home.
Based on 2019 figures from the Department of Statistics, those aged 65 years and above make up 6.7 per cent of the country’s population and the United Nations has estimated that in 2030 Malaysia’s elderly population will reach 15 per cent.
