The first lecture was delivered by En. Jais Bin Asri, Penolong Pengarah Kanan from Sabah Social Welfare Department (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Kebajikan Am Sabah) on the topic of Care Services for Older Persons and Support for Caregivers from the Government’s Perspective. In his presentation, he highlighted the following points: 5. In Malaysia, older person is defined as a person who is above the age of 60. The definition is adopted based on United Nations Assembly of Ageing in Vienna, 1982. 6. By 2030, Malaysia will become an aged nation when older persons will make up 15% of its population. 7. The average of life expectancy in Malaysia for 2010 is 71 years old for male and 76.6 years old for female. The longer life expectancy is attributed to the better health care services in Malaysia. 8. Older persons will suffer from the “empty nest syndrome” when their children join the workforces and leave them. According to him, older persons require support in terms of protection, care, financial, and emotional and psychological. 59 59 According to the speaker, for every four family, one family will suffer this syndrome. 72 REPORT ON CARE SERVICES FOR OLDER PERSONS AND SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS

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