I retired in 2005 after teaching at the same school for 30 years. The first two years of retirement were blissful. I enjoyed the freedom of not having to wake up at dawn to get to work by 7am.
I had plenty of time on my hands to do what I wanted, go where and when the travel bug took me. After two years of self-indulgence, a certain emptiness, even boredom, started to creep in. I simply couldn’t see myself spending the next 20 years or more aimlessly drifting from one interest to another, searching for something that would ignite a passion in me.
I attended enrichment courses, signed up for personal development workshops and the like. I was searching, waiting, for what I didn’t know at the time. In the process I obtained certificates, one after another, qualifying me to conduct training workshops in leadership skills and language mastery. Still the vague feeling of something missing in my life remained.
I am sharing this as I know most newly retired seniors will experience this initial joy of freedom from work responsibilities and stress, like I did, and later on discover that retirement can be a long period of adjusting to a new chapter of life and plenty of searching for that elusive “meaning in life”.
How we handle this period of uncertainty will determine how our retirement years will turn out. With longer life spans, we need to find something that captures our interest and sustains it long enough to keep us looking forward to each new day. Otherwise, retirement can be long endless days of boredom. The days will stretch into weeks, months and years of emptiness, eventually leading to loneliness, depression and health issues. More so for those in their 80s, and living alone. One can see why some reach a point of saying they have nothing left to live for.
Where hope resides
I am a firm believer in hope, and in never giving up. Where there is hope, something will come our way. That was what happened to me.
In 2008 I read in the newspapers about a four-day programme for pre-retirees and retirees to help them “find purpose in the golden years”. It caught my attention. This was exactly what I was looking for.
It was an open invitation for Malaysians aged 50 and above to participate in the MIM-RAMLEA Life Enrichment programme, organised by the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) and supported by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Germany. The Raja Mohar Life Enrichment Awards (RAMLEA) Programme was named after the late YABM Raja Tun Mohar Raja Badiozaman, who served as the second MIM President.
It was just the opportunity for me, as I was still in search of my life’s purpose.
I immediately sent in my application and was fortunate to be among the 30-odd men and women selected for the free residential programme which ran from Oct 16-19, 2008 at the Flamingo Hotel in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
It was an intensive four days of talks, discussions, field visits and fellowship, beginning at 8.30am with the first talk of the day, and ending at 10.30pm with a group discussion and reflection.
The participants came from all walks of life. The common denominator was their age group. All were retiring or retired senior citizens, with the oldest aged 70. We were there probably for the same reason – to find out how we could render our services to society. To help us discover our purpose in life, the MIM-RAMLEA programme raised our awareness in areas such as community development, environmental conservation and volunteerism.
A week before the programme commenced, participants were sent a collection of required readings centered on Universal Values and Human Renewal. These included extracts from the speeches and writings of world luminaries like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Hans Kung, Amartya Sen, Konosuke Matsushita, and our very own Harun Hashim. I found the readings intellectually stimulating.
To those wanting to work for the betterment of society, it was imperative that they understood universal values such as human rights, rule of law, and global ethics.
We had group discussions to brainstorm each of the readings, and came up with a list of 15 universal values and 15 concerns that mattered most to us as fellow Malaysians. Top of the list for universal values (in no particular order) were integrity, love, compassion, understanding, respect, and wisdom. Corruption, disharmony, poverty, environmental degradation, injustice and indifference were among the main concerns.
It made sense to me personally, that before we could even begin to help others, we should start with ourselves. Do we have the right mindset, the right attitude and the right attributes to embark on a mission to help the less fortunate in society? How serious are we in volunteering to help? Do we know enough of what’s at stake? If our answer to all these questions is no, then our contribution in terms of our dedication, time and effort would not be sustainable. We would soon give up after the initial enthusiasm of doing good.
We were introduced to the selfless work of NGOs such as Nasam (National Stroke Association of Malaysia) and Salam (Yayasan Salam Malaysia). We also paid a visit to the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB). The latter was an eye-opener for many of us. We wondered whether we had in us the same level of commitment and passion shown by volunteers like Puan Rosnah Alimuda, who had spent 35 years of her life (at the time) teaching visually-impaired children to read, write and count using Braille.
Participants were given a basic test to check their vital statistics for optimal health. Imagine our shock when we were told that the majority of us (including the thinnest) were classified as obese! It was truly a wake-up call for us to take better care of our health.
We tend to emphasise the importance of having good health, but often overlook the importance of cultivating a healthy mind. Participants went through a meditation session where we learned how to calm our mind. We were given an insight into how being mindful can positively impact our lives. Recommended reading were Eckhart Tolle’s two books: The Power Of Now and A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose.
Thanks to the MIM-RAMLEA programme, I finally found my purpose and direction in my golden years – to commit my time, energy and resources to serving the community, in particular, the community of senior citizens. Being one myself, I could relate to the needs and problems they go through.
A chosen path
Once my future direction was clear, everything fell into place. As I have often shared in my talks and conversations with the young and not so young alike, never give up even when the path you have chosen is fraught with challenges. Keep going.
When your passion is strong, it acts like a magnet drawing the right people to help you, attracting the resources to sustain you. It has worked extremely well for me, and it will work for you too.
Why am I sharing the above? It is to encourage retirees to do something constructive with the time they have. There are many NGOs that need more hands, more funds. Choose one that gels with you: Wildlife conservation, animal protection, recycling, preserving cultural heritage, mentoring youths, elder care, advocacy.
It can be helping out at soup kitchens or spending time cheering up the elderly at an aged care facility. We can also come up with projects to help raise much-needed funds for welfare organisations. If we can’t donate money, we can donate our time, our energy, our expertise. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that we have helped. Volunteerism benefits us too. It promotes social interaction, builds confidence, and leads to overall wellbeing. It gives us a sense of achievement to know that we are not idling away, complaining of boredom and loneliness.
Let’s ask ourselves what we can do to help. Then go and offer it. We will find a sense of purpose and meaning in our retirement years. A sense of pride and peace too.
Trust me. It’s been an 18-year journey of community service and advocacy for seniors. I am still waking up each morning in anticipation of what the new day will bring, and what I can do to make it a good day for others too.
Lily Fu is a gerontologist who advocates for seniors. She is the founder of SeniorsAloud, an online platform for seniors to connect and enjoy social activities for ageing well. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
(The above article was first published in the print edition on Wed 11 Feb 2026. It is accessible HERE.)
