up medical services in hospital and other services. The layout of
certain buildings in Malaysia which is not based on universal design
concept creates hassle or limits older persons’ mobility, especially
for those in wheelchairs and also for caregivers to taking their older
parents or relatives out for daily activities or recreation.
53. “We Care Services”, which is a transportation service to bring
older persons to hospitals/clinics was introduced in 2008 by the
Department of Social Welfare. The operation of this service is
currently being run by the Central Welfare Council of Peninsular
Malaysia but under the supervision of the Department of Social
Welfare.
No specific laws on older persons and incomprehensive laws on care
centres for older persons
54. No clear cut laws on non-discrimantion in Malaysia, therefore the older
persons’ rights are not fully protected under the current applicable
laws.
55. With respect to the monitoring of the private care centres, the
registration of the care centres under the Care Centres Act 1993 is
still lacking. The care services in Malaysia are fragmented as various
ministries or departments are involved in the provision of these
services. There is no continuum of care for older persons in Malaysia
and also the lack of support services for older persons to maintain
themselves in their homes.
56. The institution care for older persons in Malaysia is governed by
two types of licensing i.e. under Care Centres Act 1993 and Private
Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 and Regulations 2006.
However, there are also other forms of institutional care for older
persons which are not registered and licensed under those Acts.
Institutional care services run by NGOs and private may be registered
under the Registrar of Society (ROS) or Registrar of Companies (ROC).
57. Current regulations only look at institutional care; there are no
regulations covering other housing with care options such as
retirement village and home based services such as home help and
home nursing which are currently outside the purview of the law.
38
REPORT ON CARE SERVICES FOR OLDER PERSONS AND SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS