THE term "senior citizen" is unpleasant, especially to those who have retired. It implies that they are of little use to anyone. On the contrary, this group of people can still contribute much to the country. Non-governmental organisations say it is about time the continued involvement of retirees and pensioners in the human resources sector was looked into. The Malaysian Employers' Federation says on average, one million Malaysians retire from the private sector annually.
Its executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, says if the number of retirees include those up to the age of 66, "that is quite a lot of resources available" in terms of manpower.
He says engaging senior citizens in the various economic sectors can also reduce the country's dependence on foreign labour.
"If they are still active, they will be useful to society and can contribute to the country's productivity."
Shamsuddin suggests a national policy on employment for the elderly, just like what Singapore has done.
Through the policy, the island republic saw its services sector, which was heavily staffed with foreign workers, gradually being filled with elderly citizens.
He also says the government should provide incentives to the private sector in the form of a tax break to encourage them to employ workers over the age of 56.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress general secretary G. Rajasekaran says it has been advocating for a later retirement age for quite some time.
"We have been calling for the retirement age to be pushed to 60," he says, adding that workers these days are generally quite healthy and can carry on working for many years.
"When you talk about the productivity of the country, it all comes down to your workers."
He says MTUC has received feedback that many senior citizens are willing to continue working.
However, Rajasekaran fears that senior citizens may be exploited when it comes to wages, benefits and working conditions.
National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) president Datuk Dr Lum Kin Tuck agrees with Rajasekaran.
"Fifty-six years old is too young and it's a waste of the experience when they retire at that age," he says.
Nacscom is also advocating that 20 per cent of a company's workforce be made up of senior citizens.
Lum adds that the move will also reduce dependence on foreign workers.
Copyright © 2008 NST Online
