SHAH ALAM, Oct 27 — An increasing number of Selangor residents are now part of the ‘sandwich generation’ — middle-aged individuals who shoulder the dual responsibility of caring for elderly parents while raising young children.
Selangor Welfare Department (JKM) director Azmir Kassim said the rise in the elderly population has a direct impact not only on senior citizens but also on caregivers, who are increasingly strained in terms of time, energy, and emotional well-being.
“When there are more elderly people, it is not only they who are affected, but also their caregivers. They must look after ageing parents while at the same time caring for their own children,” he said during Media Selangor’s 'Bicara Semasa' programme.
Azmir added that this challenge also affects the state’s labour policies, as many individuals of productive working age are forced to leave stable employment or reduce their working hours to fulfil family responsibilities.
To address this issue, the state government has formulated the Selangor Care Economy Policy, which aims to enable caregivers to access training, social assistance, and more flexible employment opportunities.
“When the labour force becomes limited because many people are in this situation, government policies are also affected. That is why we want caregiving to be part of the state’s economic system,” he said.
However, Azmir acknowledged that the challenge lies not only in the family’s burden but also in the lack of community-level facilities to support senior citizens.
Selangor currently has about 808 registered care centres, but only 110 are dedicated to the elderly, which is insufficient to serve nearly 900,000 residents aged 60 and above.
“We currently have only 22 Senior Citizen Activity Centres throughout the state. This number is far too small to provide services to almost one million elderly residents,” he said.
To strengthen the support network, JKM is now encouraging closer cooperation with local authorities to improve community facilities and establish more day care centres, in line with the ‘ageing in place’ concept practised in developed countries.
“We want every local authority in Selangor to have at least one senior citizen activity centre. At present, only the Selayang Municipal Council has begun implementing it. We hope more local authorities will follow suit,” he said.
