Retirees flock to Perak, making it nation’s ‘oldest state’

KUALA LUMPUR: Perak is the “oldest” state in Malaysia this year with 14.9% of its population aged 60 and above.

Perlis and Penang are next, with senior citizens making up 13.1% and 12.7% of their population respectively.

Chief Statistician of Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said these areas outpaced other states in the country in terms of becoming an ageing population.

“Many retirees de­­cide to reside in Perak because it doesn’t seem too hectic, but it’s still a big state,” he said after the Department of Statis­tics Datathon opening ceremony and StatsDigital launch at UniKL Business School yesterday.

He noted that Penang already became an ageing society in 2013.

He notes that an ageing society is defined as having 7% of the population aged 65 years and above.

An aged society and super-aged society is when those who are aged 65 and above make up 14% and 20% of the population respectively.

Dr Mohd Uzir said many schools in rural areas were witnessing shrinking student intakes as birth rates had dropped and many families were migrating to the cities.

In contrast, he said populations in Kelantan and Terengganu were relatively slower to age.

Those aged 60 and above in the states only make up 9.7% and 8.7% of the population.

Senior citizens make up 8% and 10.4% of the population in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur respectively.

However, Malaysia overall is pro­­jected to see 15.3% of its population aged 60 and above by year 2030.

Dr Mohd Uzir said such statistics indicated that more national policies must be put in place to fulfil the needs of the elderly in the future.

“The government must examine how someone who has worked hard in their prime may be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour when they are older,” he said.

He said this would include measures such as savings schemes and elderly-friendly facilities.

Dr Mohd Uzir said the Malaysian Census 2020 would include new demographic indicators that would shed light on the population.

Measures such as accessibility to the digital economy and education levels of the population would be included in the census as well, which is taken every 10 years.