The third lecture was on Existing Challenges and Issues that affect the Standards of Care Provided by Caregivers Caring for Older Persons in Both Government and Private Care Centres by Datuk Wilfred Lingham, Vice President of Persatuan Warga Emas Sabah who highlighted the following issues : 21. The demographic profile of Malaysia shows equal number of male and female populations within the range age of 55-64. However, there are more female than male in population above the age of 65. 22. In 2012, there was a total of 2,438,700 older persons (60+) in Malaysia and this number is predicted to increase due to the improvement in the delivery of health care services and by 2020 this number is expected to rise about 3.5 million or 11.3%. 23. There is a steady rise of Government pensioners over the years with 650,000 in the Peninsula, 47,000 in Sarawak and 43,000 in Sabah. 22% or 9,000 pensioners in Sabah live below the poverty line. 24. The challenges faced by older persons are as follows: a. The high cost of living has made the older persons to depend on working children for handouts. b. Leakages in government subsidies due to poor enforcement/ management. c. Lack of properly trained personnel which is not sensitive to older persons. 25. The recommendations suggested by Datuk Wilfred were as follows:a. That the Government be pro-active rather than re-active on the issue of ageing. b. Exclusive hospitals to be built for older persons and retirement home by the Government. c. Ensuring the public and private facilities are friendly for and older persons. d. To conduct advocacy and awareness program on issues of disabled and older persons. e. To support families who are playing the role of caregivers. f. Introduction of minimum RM500 pension termed “Old Age Pension Scheme” for individuals whose last drawn salary were less than RM1000 per month. 76 REPORT ON CARE SERVICES FOR OLDER PERSONS AND SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERS