PETALING JAYA: Hiring someone to accompany you to a wedding may sound like an unusual arrangement, but for 65-year-old Fadzilah, it meant she did not have to miss out simply because she had no one to go with her.
“I enjoyed the trip very much and most importantly, I felt safe. I would definitely hire a companion again if I need one in the future,” she said.
Her experience points to a growing demand for paid companionship services as Malaysia’s ageing population creates needs beyond traditional healthcare and caregiving.
For freelance driver and companion Aini Syahirah Amir Hussein, older people are among her regular customers.
They hire her to accompany them shopping, attend weddings, run errands or travel by LRT.
“Some of my older clients are in their 60s and are still quite active.
“They hire me to transport them to gatherings with their friends,” she said.
Aini, 25, who is also a full-time special needs teacher, said she enjoys spending time chatting with her older clients, who often have plenty of experiences and stories to share.
"There was one day when I picked up two older women from a university to take them to the LRT. They told me they were heading to a gathering in KL.
"I found it striking that they were still meeting friends and were fit enough to walk long distances," she said.
For 35-year-old Siti Nur Atikah Ismail, the idea of starting a companion service came from seeing friends struggle to find someone to drive their parents to weddings and other events.
"I had also accompanied my older neighbours to clinics, banks and Social Welfare Department offices to apply for assistance.
"Sometimes they would also ask me to accompany them to weddings," said Atikah, who recently started the service after moving from Alor Setar to Melaka.
Atikah, who is a lecturer, said she had never charged her neighbours before but had recently decided to turn the service into a source of side income.
Nurul Ezzati binti Mohamed Nasir, founder and CEO of a social enterprise that provides companionship and care services for senior citizens, said she has seen continued demand, particularly from working adult children who want to support their ageing parents but cannot always be physically present.
"Some requests may sound quite ordinary, but they can be quite meaningful for the older people.
"We have had families ask for someone to accompany their parents for a meal, go for a walk, run errands, attend activities or simply spend some time talking with them," she said.
Many clients are not looking for traditional caregivers because their parents remain independent but may spend more time alone, go out less or need support to remain socially active, she added.
"We are seeing more families recognise that companionship and social engagement are also important, even when their parents are still independent.
"This reflects the fact that the need is not always about completing a particular task. Sometimes the task is just the reason for the companionship," she said.
For example, an older person may need to attend a medical appointment, but what the family really needs is someone they trust to accompany the older person, spend time with them and make the experience less stressful, she said.
While there is currently no formal certification for paid companions, Nurul Ezzati said clearer could become increasingly important as demand grows for support services for Malaysia’s ageing population.
