Knowledge doesn’t ever retire – it compounds

ON Aug 6, the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, announced that the Public Service Department will conduct an in-depth study on raising the mandatory retirement age for civil servants from 60 to 65 (online at bit.ly/star_studygov). The Star’s report on expert insights on this issue (“The higher the retirement age, the better? It depends”, Aug 6; online at bit.ly/star_depends) points towards a deeper opportunity.

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan’s Prof Balakrishnan Parasuraman advocates performance-based extensions for sectors like the 3,000 professors contributing to research, noting “in the civil service, it should be performance- based”. The National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations’ Dr Soon Ting Kueh wants optional retirement to preserve “experiences that should be continued”. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s 13th Malaysia Plan acknowledges that “financial implications and job market dynamics” must be considered.