[lkarren]

Marine Parade to submit paper on tackling ageing issue
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 07 July 2007 1730 hrs




SINGAPORE: Community leaders in Marine Parade will be working on a paper that is aimed at tackling the ageing population issue in the months ahead.

This move came after a brainstorming session with Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong when he visited the Marine Parade Family Service Centre on Saturday morning.

Mr Goh said he would, subsequently, forward the paper to Minister Lim Boon Heng who is overseeing the ageing issue in Singapore.

Physical health for the elderly is important, but the challenge is keeping their grey matter healthy and sharp.

Samuel Ng, Executive Consultant, Marine Parade Family Service Centre, said: "We find that a lot of people today are engaged in activities that are quite passive, like singing. How do we move from here? Promoting lifelong learning is a way to keep them mentally active."

SM Goh said: "I'm taking a personal interest because I can see Marine Parade having an older population. I came here as a young man in my mid-30s. My grassroots leaders were in their 30s and early 40s, and they're still with me. When we walk around now, we walk a bit slower, and we see many older people in Marine Parade... we need to attend to the needs of the old."

The cost of running these services for the elderly is about a million dollars a year and their lifelong learning programme costs another half a million dollars.

The Good Life Wellness Centre has a membership of more than 650 people and the membership size could increase in the years ahead.

In the last census, it is estimated that 30 percent of the residents in Marine Parade are in the elderly age group.

While more ideas are being worked on to improve the quality of life for the elderly, Mr Goh is already prepared to go that extra mile.

He said: "I've spoken to Lim Boon Heng. If he has any ideas and he wants to have a constituency and an MP to push his ideas, I'll volunteer! Then he can replicate the success in Marine Parade to other parts."

Marine Parade's "Young At Heart" lifelong learning programme is two years old and has already seen more than 500 seniors graduating.


- CNA/so

[genzo2106]

quite true, to help the elderly from becoming senile, we must let them be actively engaged in social activities

[lonerlost]

Glad that we have good leaders around, the policies they are going to implement may be used in the future for other prefectures.

[yvonnetan782]

hmm.... thanks for the info... it might help in my gp. lols.

[uyen]

Actually i think late retirment is good because that will keep the elderly busy .