Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

At the outset allow me, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, to take this opportunity to join other speakers in congratulating you on your election as the President of this Second World Assembly on Ageing. I am confident that under your able leadership and guidance, we will be able to achieve fruitful results. My delegation wishes to convey our deepest appreciation to the Government and people of Spain for the hospitality extended to us during our brief stay in your historic and beautiful country.

Mr. President,

The world is experiencing unprecedented changes, including a demographic transformation where the number of older persons in developing countries is expected to quadruple during the next fifty years. These demographic changes, coupled with the rapid progress of globalization, have opened up opportunities and at the same time brought about tremendous challenges and risks in our endeavour to achieve development for all.

In this regard, Malaysia's development philosophy is that economic growth is not pursued as an end in itself. Rather, economic growth should be accompanied by equitable distribution to enable all segments of society to benefit from the development process, whereby improvements in the quality of life of the Malaysian people have in fact been more a result of social policies rather than economic growth alone. Raising income is not a guarantee that the population will have access to adequate social services. Accessibility is as crucial as affordability. As such, the Government of Malaysia has allocated sufficient budgets to ensure that all groups, including older persons, have the opportunity and the means to participate in the development process. For us, social development has been and will always continue to be an integral part of the overall national development agenda.

Mr. President,

Malaysia, like all other developing countries, will begin to have a rapidly ageing population, which will have an impact on the lifestyle, family and community structure of our society. In response to this, my government, with the informed inputs from NGOs, has put in place several initiatives including a unified, holistic and multi-sectoral National Policy on Older Persons and its Plan of Action. This Policy has its basic principles for older persons such as independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity. We are pleased to report that our Plan of Action is consistent with the International Plan of Action for the Ageing. Our Plan of Action outlines the provision of health care for the older persons with emphasis on community based services and geriatric care; social and recreational activities; housing with safety and elderly friendly considerations; research and development; education and training with opportunities for life-long education; and advocacy programmes to create public awareness towards positive ageing and healthy life-style.

Mr. President,

Malaysia believes that the family is the basic unit of society and the primary source of nurturing, caring as well as providing support for the sick, the disabled and older persons. Emphasis has and will continue to be given to strengthening the family unit, which also forms the basis of building a caring society, which is able to protect all individuals, including older persons, from the negative effects of development. As such, institutionalization of the elderly is seen as a last resort. To encourage families to care for older persons, the Government has allowed for tax deductions for the payment of medical expenses incurred by parents. The Government, with the cooperation and support of NGOs, has also established community-based day care centers to provide care for older persons during the day in the absence of family members. For older persons who are destitute and have no relatives to care for them, the Government has established homes and provided financial aid to ensure their well - being.

As part of the efforts to optimize the potential of the older persons, steps are being taken to acknowledge their productive capabilities and contributions to national development where in this regard, we have extended the retirement age for employees in the public sector. In the meantime, various opportunities are being provided such as retraining and life-long education as well as job emplacements to enable them to continue to be economically productive, independent and enhancing their self-worth, attractiveness and dignity. Malaysia is fortunate that it has been experiencing full employment for the past decade, thus enabling us to take proactive approaches for older persons to effectively participate in the development process. This inclusion of older persons in essence reflects our efforts to integrate social development together with economic policies and programmes which provides a sounc basis for the building of a society for all ages as espoused in the main theme of this Assembly.

Mr. President,

A significant emerging trend is the feminization of ageing which is also a great challenge to us. Females tend to outlive males due to the variance in mortality patterns between the sexes. This larger and increasing number of elderly and ageing women has social, economic and cultural implications on policy and programmes, be it at the national or international level. This emerging trend has to be given due attention and appropriate measures have to be taken to ensure that older women, in particular those who are single, have affordable access to the necessary support services and facilities.

Meanwhile, experience has shown that development will have profound consequences on a nation's social and cultural circumstances. With the world changing at such a rapid pace, the scope and impact of this change has and will continue to have multiple implications and dimensions that transcend geographical, social and cultural borders. The process of globalization also influences cultural and traditional norms, including the widening intergenerational gap, that affect the foundations of many societies. These negative trends, if not addressed, will undermine social stability and damage the fabric of society. We believe that societies have thus to be resilient to withstand these negative influences.

Social development initiatives have to be continued if not enhanced to enable all people, including older persons, to satisfy their basic human needs and lead lives of dignity and safety, while at the same time participating fully in society. The planning and provision of social services will thus have to take into consideration the changing family circumstances, gender equality and the changing responsibilities of men and women, shifts in the population age-structure and rural-urban migration. In providing relevant social services, it is of utmost importance to ensure that these services are of adequate quality, affordable, sensitive to the needs of the users, including older persons, and delivered in an innovative, efficient and cost-effective way.

Mr. President,

Malaysia has been fortunate to have acquired the necessary and sufficient range of factors to enable social and economic development initiatives to achieve notable levels of success and thereby contribute towards building the foundation of a united Malaysian nation. Of utmost importance is the formation of a fully committed Government under the able and visionary leadership of our Prime Minister The Rt. Honorable Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. Malaysia is a multi-racial society built from the lessons of the past and accepting the reality of the need to live in peaceful coexistence, in harmony and being mutually tolerant. The guidance and wisdom of our socio-economic leadership and the dire political will of the nation, drives us to work for one common goal of becoming a fully developed nation in our own mould.

With regard to the ageing issues at hand, Malaysia wishes to implore that the United Nations and its various organizations undertake further research looking into such prospects as ageing, unity and continued productivity. In this way, member countries with all our peculiar characteristics such as different races, culture and religious beliefs, can share experiences on how this resource can be optimally utilized to significantly contribute towards sustainable development of our diverse societies.

As we work together towards building a society for all ages and strengthening solidarity between the nations and generations, we should collectively be making every conscious effort to mobilize national and international resources and ensure that we implement programmes on the ground to reach out to users and beneficiaries to really make a difference.

Mr. President,

This auspicious Assembly provides us with another golden opportunity to further strengthen and reaffirm our commitment that all the people of the world, especially older persons, regardless of race, culture and religious beliefs, can enjoy the benefits and fruits of development throughout the entire span of their life provided that we make it happen.

Thank You