SINGAPORE: Experts in the field of ageing said a mindset change is needed in Singapore when it comes to the elderly.
Taking a lesson from Europe, they said Singapore needs to learn how to value their elderly and view them as productive.
These were some suggestions raised by experts from Asia and Europe on the sidelines of a forum on active ageing.
Associate
Professor Angelique Chan from National University of Singapore's
Department of Sociology said that unlike Europe, Singapore has to face
an ageing population in a short amount of time.
By 2030, one in five Singaporean residents will be aged 65 and above.
Researchers said a rapidly ageing population in Singapore has challenged attitudes towards the elderly.
For
example, this was seen in the Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome, when
several residents protested against the construction of eldercare
facilities in their neighbourhood earlier this year.
Associate
Professor Chan said: "If you go to the European context and you look at
how European elderly are regarded, you will see they are very much seen
as human beings, as people, who actually want to live their lives as
fully as possible, and be involved in society as fully as possible.
"I
think we are still very far away from that in Singapore. We tend to
isolate our older people. We don't let them work past the age of 65 and a
lot more needs to be done."
Associate Professor Chan added that
employers need to understand that older people are still productive - a
perspective which has worked well in Europe.
Dr Alan Hatton-Yeo,
who is chief executive of Beth Johnson Foundation UK, said: "We are
moving now towards much more flexible models of retirement where people
may leave the workplace over a number of years. They may become
part-time workers but start to do voluntary work… continue to be
involved in things, continue to feel valued and participate are really
important.
"I think that has been a really significant change for
us in Europe. We value our older people much more now than we would
have 20 years ago and recognise they have got a great deal to offer to
society."
The Beth Johnson Foundation was established to develop new approaches to ageing that link practice, policy and research.
This is a direction the government hopes to take.
In
his opening address at the forum, Acting Minister for Social and Family
Development, Chan Chun Sing, said: "Today, our mental model is that we
teach our young all that we want to do in their early years. It is a
very intensive teaching and learning in the first 20 to 25 years of
their life. And thereafter we unleash them to the working world as if we
they will be ready for the rest of their life.
"Maybe we have to
rethink how we actually promote a culture of lifelong learning, how we
design our modules whereby people of all ages can progressively pick up
new skills, as we go along."
Mr Chan also noted that while
Singapore can learn lessons from other countries when it comes to active
ageing, it is important that they are applied in context.
He
said that a "one-size fits all" solution does not work, and that even in
Singapore, different constituencies have different needs.
- CNA/fa