By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 26: The Sarawak government is collaborating with State-owned universities to conduct a study on the elderly profile in Sarawak to address the challenges of an ageing population.
According to a news report from the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas), without disclosing which areas, the Minister for Women, Early Childhood, and Community Well-being Development Sarawak, Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, said the collaboration involves Swinburne University, Curtin University, and the University of Technology Sarawak (UTS).
“The Sarawak government is gearing up by emphasising proactive measures through strategic collaboration and comprehensive research initiatives.
“The State is expected to age more quickly than other regions in Malaysia due to declining fertility and birth rates,” she said, as quoted by Ukas.
Fatimah said a collaboration with Affin Bank is also being planned to study the social well-being index, with the aim of improving the well-being of the people in various areas to ensure that Sarawak achieves 12 well-being indicators by 2026.
She also said that the research would allow the Sarawak government to identify strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed so that senior citizens can live in a state of well-being and safety.
“Based on statistics, several areas in Sarawak have reached a point where 15 per cent of the population is made up of senior citizens,” she added. — DayakDaily
