Page 141 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 4

CPS2157 Ezatul Nisha Abdul Rahman et al.
The changes of the young aged group will reflect the population pyramid
structure, with less percentage of young population occupy in the social
structure of the society, the numbers of next generation age group will slowly
be reduced thus changing the landscape of the population pyramid (Figure 2).

4. Discussion
In this discussion there are three sections, first is the impact of population
ageing in economy and healthcare. Then, the discussion on the initiatives to
prepare for population ageing that has been implemented both in Malaysia
and abroad. The third section is the recommendation that can be applied in
preparing for population ageing.

4.1 The Impact on Economy
With the changes in the structure of the population pyramid, the working
force is gradually shrinking and less tax could be collected from this age group,
thus will lead to lower tax collected by government indirectly will restrict the
national spending. In Japan, USA and Singapore the mandatory age of
retirement is put at 60 years, 62- 65, and 62 respectively (Kashiwagi 2018). By
increasing the retirement age, the active labour forces are at a level where the
government could more collect a tax.
Under 11th Malaysia Plan which will be implemented in 2016 to 2020, low-
income groups especially in the informal sector, they will be encouraged to
participate in voluntary savings and retirement scheme as a guarantee of
economic protection. Few more initiatives for the elderly under Budget 2019
such as pensioner who still receives pensions less than RM1000 will get a
donation of RM500 from the government. Second, to encourage employment
opportunities for over the age of 60, the government proposed that EPF's
mandatory contribution reduced from six percent to four percent (Ministry of
Finance, 2018).

4.2 The Impact on Healthcare
The health system in Malaysia continues to struggle in catering to the
population with comprehensive care. This can be observed through the high
number of admissions due to chronic conditions involving a patient with
asthma, diabetes mellitus or any other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
(Atun et.al, 2016). Around 15-20 percent of hospital admissions involved
conditions that should be effectively managed through ambulatory care which
reflect the suboptimal performance of the health system as a whole. These
admissions include suboptimal continuity of care between primary, secondary,
and tertiary levels. However, the current healthcare system in Malaysia is not
well-suited for treating agerelated symptoms (Ministry of Health Report,
2016). In addition, the population ageing drives the implication of the need

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