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The Evolution of Government’s Attention Towards Older Person: a Critical Review of Malaysia 5 Years Plan

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Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of government’s attention towards older person in Malaysia by reviewing Malaysia five years plan. Malaysia began to emphasise older person issues in 1995, following the introduction of the National Policy of Older Person. In 1997, the idea of healthy ageing was brought into attention through the first introduction of National Health Policy for Older Person. Subsequently in 20 eras, Malaysia started to grasp the idea of active ageing and productive ageing and this could be seen through the emphasised implementation of National Health Policy for Older Person, life-long learning programs as well as the improved retirement age of 60 years to promote productive ageing. In the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the government highlighted issues namely improvement of facilities, provision of accessible health care, and utilization of ICT on public services for older person. The ongoing plan emphasises the preparation of older person after retirement. This paper concludes that the attention for older person in Malaysia is still far behind compared to other developed countries. This is among the gaps that Malaysia needs to take a heed in order to be ready to take on ageing country status by 2030.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Yarina Ahmad for her endless support and guidance in completing this study. Besides, I would also like to thank Dr. Azizan binti Zainuddin for her support and advice and Prof Dr. Kamaruzaman Jusoff for his knowledge sharing during the Seminar “Publishing a High Impact Journal”. I am also grateful for the great support and advice from GRiP members (Graduate Researchers in Print) Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies. Last but not least, I would like to thank both of my parents, and especially my brother Muhammad Nasiruddin Bin Aziz for their endless assistance, love and kindness.

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Correspondence to Nur Amalina binti Aziz.

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Aziz, N.A.b., Ahmad, Y.b. The Evolution of Government’s Attention Towards Older Person: a Critical Review of Malaysia 5 Years Plan. Ageing Int 44, 319–330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-019-09347-9

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