MALAYSIA: No need to rush, senior citizens in Penang told

. GEORGE TOWN, Penang / The Sun Daily / May 4, 2009: The state government has urged senior citizens not to rush to register for its new Senior Citizens Appreciation programme following a deluge of public interest in the matter. Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh said there was ample time for anyone above the age of 60 to register from now till March 8, 2010. "State assemblymen and members of the village, development and security committees (JKKKs) will also be going down to the ground to register," he said in a statement yesterday. Phee urged the public not to be taken by rumours, stressing that the mechanism of appreciation will be officially announced after the registration. The state has embarked on the registration exercise to help senior citizens following its recent initiative to help eradicate hard-core poverty in Penang. Penag Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan criticised that the programme was being done on an ad-hoc basis. "There are no clear-cut details, such as whether the senior citizens would receive any money or aid in kind. If it is in cash, how much is it, and if it is in kind, what is the kind?" he said. Teng noted that according to newspaper reports, the state would distribute 200,000 forms from May 1 to senior citizens to fill in their personal particulars. "Asking for personal particulars, especially those of senior citizens, is not a small matter and we are worried that their personal details may fall on wrong hands or abused by unscrupulous people," he added. Copyright© 2009 Sun Media Corporation Sdn. Bhd