Advocates for senior citizens urge government to do better for our elderly

Only about 1% of our senior citizens are in care homes; the majority are cared for by family or live independently, says Prof Tan. Photo: S. S KANESAN/The Star

Blaming adult children for being unable to care for their ageing parents and placing them in aged-care or nursing homes isn’t fair.

This was the collective response of advocates for seniors to Deputy Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff who said, in a news report last week, that the government’s expenditure of RM900 mil a year for elderly care could be reduced if adult children realised the importance of taking care of their parents.