Department of social welfare

1. Financial Assistance.
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has a financial assistance scheme for poor older persons, especially those without next of kin. The scheme is called Aid for Older Persons (BOT) and offers a monthly allowance of RM 200.00 per person to be granted upon approval.

2. Homes for the Older Persons in Malaysia.
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has 13 Homes for the Older Persons directly under the management of and financed by the government. Their objective is to provide proper care and protection for the needy elderly to ensure their security, treatment, and quality of life. These institutions are listed below:
1. Rumah Seri Kenangan Bedong, Kedah.
2. Rumah Seri Kenangan Taiping, Perak.
3. Rumah Seri Kenangan Tanjung Rambutan, Perak.
4. Rumah Seri Kenangan Cheras, Selangor.
5. Rumah Seri Kenangan Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
6. Rumah Seri Kenangan Cheng, Melaka.
7. Rumah Seri Kenangan Johor Bharu, Johor.
8. Rumah Seri Kenangan Pangkalan Chepa, Kelantan.
9. Rumah Seri Kenangan Kangar, Perlis.
10. Rumah Ehsan Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor.
11. Rumah Ehsan Dungun, Terengganu.
12. Desa Bina Diri Mersing, Johor.
13. Desa Bina Diri Jerantut, Pahang.

3. Facilities and services for the older persons
The current facilities and services for older persons in Malaysia are provided by the government, NGOs, and the private sector. The government services are provided by the Department Of Social Welfare and include fields and institutional services to meet the needs of the poor older persons. NGOs provide services such as village homes or cottages for older persons to enable them to continue living in their own communities. The Care Centre Act 1993 under the Department ensures that the minimum standards of care and services in NGO-run and private old persons’ homes are maintained.

• The Health Ministry provides medical and health services for older persons including establishing Geriatric Care Units at the Seremban Hospital and the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Most health clinics in the country implement health care for older persons, which cover the whole spectrum of services to encompass health promotion, prevention of ailments and rehabilitative services.

• Major hospitals have special counters for older persons to receive their medication.

• The Malaysian Railway and Malaysian Airlines System provide concession rates of 50% of the normal domestic fares to older persons.

• The Employees Provident Fund Scheme contributes to the financial security of older persons who have retired from the formal sector.

• The Pension Scheme is a non-contributory scheme for civil services.

•  The Immigration Department provides special counters for older persons for passport application and Tax relief for family members who spend up to RM 5,000 per calendar year for the medical expenses and purchases of special appliances for their elderly parents.

4. The role of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations)
NGOs play a complementary role in helping the government to meet the social needs of older persons in the country. Based on data from the Registrar of Societies, there were 30,907 NGOs registered in May 2000, of which 3,218 were welfare related. The majority of NGOs provide institutional care and shelter for older persons in need.

5. Social Security
Currently, the social security scheme covers only those employed in the formal work sector. There are two schemes to cover those employees, namely the Pension and Employees Provident Funds. These two schemes cover only around 60% of the labour force in Malaysia, leaving another 40% of the elderly population, mainly from the informal sector or self employed people, uncovered or without a known source of coverage.

6. Health Financing
Costs relating to health care in Malaysia are soaring. It is a great challenge to finance health care for the elderly, especially for those who are needy and not covered by either of the above schemes.

7. Community Care
Social change transformed the traditional extended families into nuclear families. Many females, who are traditionally the family caregiver, joined the formal work force, and thus could longer more be depended upon to take care of the family full-time. In order to enable the family to continue providing care to older persons, family care has to be supplemented with some other forms of care, including community care. Increased allocations may require additional funding for the development of community care projects.

8. Training of Personnel
If better care is to be given to the elderly, the service provider must be given adequate training. Since service for the older persons is a collaborative effort of various government agencies, NGOs, and private sector groups with the Social Welfare Department as the focal point, it is necessary for the department to empower its personnel with proper training in order to care for the older persons. The same is true for various other government agencies like the Health Department, hospitals, local governments etc.

Source
www. http:// Community Services for the Elderly; Social welfare policies and services fort he elderly: A country report (Malaysia). 2007. Tokyo, Japan