Sarawak’s responses proactively to ageing

MIRI: Sarawak is taking proactive steps to address the challenges of an ageing population with a comprehensive and intensive research study set to take place this year, covering both urban and rural areas,” says Sarawak Women, Early Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.

She mentioned that this initiative reflects the state’s urgency in preparing for its impending status as an aged state by 2028.

“Sarawak will be the first state in Malaysia to be categorised as an aged state by 2028, even before the country as a whole reaches this status in 2030,” Fatimah stated.

“This is due to our increasing longevity and declining fertility rate. To address these issues, we have proposed a research study that will be conducted by a consortium of three universities in Sarawak—Curtin University, Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS), and Swinburne University of Technology.”

Fatimah emphasised the need for the research to be thorough, involving a large number of respondents from both urban and rural areas, including very rural divisions and districts.

“We want this study to be as comprehensive and intensive as possible, providing us with a clear profile of the ageing population in Sarawak,” she added.

The minister shared these details during the launch of the Globesync Community Research and Sustainability Conference (GlobeCoReS 2024) at Curtin University Sarawak on Tuesday.
She also highlighted the importance of the research in identifying gaps in the existing support system for the elderly.

“We are not starting from scratch; there are already support systems in place. However, we know some gaps need to be addressed. We hope this research will help us identify those gaps and provide the right support system for our ageing population by 2028,” Fatimah said.

The research is expected to commence by October 2024, with findings and proposals guiding the state’s approach to supporting its elderly residents in the years leading up to 2028.

Also present at the event were Professor Simon Leunig, Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin Malaysia; Professor Vincent Lee, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor; and Professor Roy Rillera Marzo, Chairman of the GlobeCoReS conference and Dean of Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences.
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The conference brought together 1,000 delegates from 36 countries, with 400 attending in person and the rest participating online.