KUALA LUMPUR - THE United Nations (UN) has projected that Malaysia will become an aged nation by the year 2030 when 15 per cent of its population will be above 60 years old.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry put the current number of senior citizens in Malaysia at 2.1 million, constituting 7.3 per cent of the total population.
Life expectancy was expected to rise from 72.6 years in 2010 to 74.2 in 2020 for men while for women, the figure was expected to rise from 77.5 years to 79.1 years during the same period.
'The figure is expected to rise in line with the improved health standards of the population,' Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said.
She added that the government, through the Social Welfare Department, had set up Rumah Seri Kenangan to provide care and protection to the aged who were poor.
As of May 31, there were nine units of Rumah Seri Kenangan throughout the country which provided care and protection to 1,942 residents. -- THE STAR/ANN
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