INTERACTIVE: Rapid ageing and Malaysia’s ‘ghost towns’

PETALING JAYA: Starting today, rural and suburban areas all over the country are going to come alive again with traffic jams, joyous young children and packed bazaars as Malaysians return home for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

The noise, colour and crowds are a welcome break for these towns which have been greying over the past decades, as the proportion of elderly residents grows while younger ones leave in search of better jobs.