PAPAR, May 18 — A total of 190 Senior Citizens’ Activity Centres (PAWEs) registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) nationwide are in operation as Malaysia prepares to become an ageing country by 2030.
JKM director-general Datuk Che Murad Sayang Ramjan said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry channels RM50,000 annually through the department to each PAWE for their programmes.
“PAWE members include former government officers, private sector employees, and members of the public who will create more ideas and turn the centres into an attractive programme as they become gathering spots.
“These activities include health checks, physical training suitable for the elderly, and intergenerational programmes involving youth in PAWE to allow them to learn skills like handicraft,” he told reporters during the officiation of a PAWE in Kampung Benoni here today by Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, who is also Papar MP.
Che Murad Sayang said with PAWEs’ intergenerational activities, youth can learn skills centred on traditional and cultural values.
He added that his department would introduce senior citizen empowerment programmes through the Anywhere, Any Place, Anytime (PAWE@3A).
Under PAWE@3A, activities are held even outdoors as they are social support and elderly development activities done through strategic collaborations between government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and local communities.
— Bernama
