By Sharon See | Posted: 12
December 2010 2044 hrs
SINGAPORE : The government is carrying out a
five-year study in Marine Parade to assess the implications and
needs of an ageing community.
Speaking at St Hilda's Community Services Centre's Christmas High
Tea on Sunday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said the findings will
then be applied to the rest of Singapore.
75-year-old Abdul Rahman Karidin suffered a stroke eight years ago
and became depressed over time.
But the rehabilitative activities at St Hilda's have cheered him
up, bringing new meaning to "active ageing".
He said: "Once you go there and exercise, you got friends. I meet
Malay, Chinese...and even elderly men like me."
Mr Goh commended organisations like St Hilda's for reaching out to
vulnerable groups in society.
He said the elderly are a special group, and Singapore would need
more young people to engage older Singaporeans to help them grow
old graciously.
He noted that one in five Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by
2030.
But Marine Parade is 20 years ahead, with one in five residents
currently aged 65 and above.
That is why the government is conducting a five-year study there to
understand the needs of the ageing community.
The findings would then be applied to the rest of Singapore.
MediaCorp understands that the Community Development, Youth and
Sports Ministry and other government agencies will partner
grassroots organisations in Marine Parade to carry out the
study.
The study will look at what Singaporeans aged 60 and above would
need, such as physical amenities and other services.
Mr Goh said: "By 'old', I do not mean those that are frail, unable
to move on their own alone. It is 65 and above, and hopefully, it
is to help them age actively. So if you regard Marine Parade as an
ageing community, it is in fact a community of retirees in fact to
come, people getting older, retiring in place."
He added: "We hope that a survey of their needs will be able to
help us identify the gaps that we must put in place to support an
ageing population. After the needs are identified, we would then
have to work out measures which may include national policies to
serve the older population, and of course later on, we got to do an
evaluation as to whether what we try to do will be done in a most
cost-effective way."
Details of the study are expected to be announced on Monday.
- CNA/ms
