IMAGINE A WORLD THAT'S AGEING, IT ISN'T HARD TO DO

Note the shrinking 0-19 age group and the growing 65+ age group.
(Source: UN World Population Prospects)

Would John Lennon have imagined a world that is rapidly ageing? Given the statistics, it's not that difficult to picture a world where one in every four people is 60 and above. We can expect that to happen as early as 2050. Everyone grows old. That is a fact. With the longer life span now enjoyed by the elderly, and with young people delaying marriage and opting for smaller families, the net result is a world population that is increasingly turning gray. What are the repercussions? How prepared are countries to face the challenges posed by an ageing population?

This video posted by the International Monetary Fund gives a forewarning of the crisis ahead and offers some solutions on what can be done to reduce the adverse impact of global ageing.



Here is another video with the same urgent message. Lifestar Institute believes that the solution lies in biomedical technologies that can "retard, arrest, even reverse the damage of ageing' and at the same time 'make a big difference to the health of the elderly'.

The vision and mission as stated on Lifestar Institute website: "We are dedicated to averting the pending global ageing crisis in the pursuit of personnel, sciences and processes to develop therapies that restore knowledge and productivity. We invoke solutions to the human, social and economic burdens of our ageing population... and advocate open, informed discussion about the challenges and opportunities ahead." (Click here to read more.)

Some countries like Singapore are scrambling to get ready for the rising number of elderly people. Some are blissfully ignorant of the coming silver tsunami. Some are aware but choose to be complacent about it, preferring to give priority to other concerns.

Which category does Malaysia fall into? Which countries are most prepared to meet the challenge? And which countries are least prepared? The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has published the Global Aging Preparedness Index (or GAP Index) that provides the first comprehensive quantitative assessment of the progress that countries worldwide are making in preparing for global aging, and particularly the old-age dependency dimension of the challenge.

You can download all 76 pages of the full report here.

Of the 20 countries covered in the Index, four are in Asia: India, China, Japan and Korea.

TONY PUA TELLS IT AS IT IS

MP for Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua must have felt vindicated. When he first drew public attention to the false labelling and inferior products sold at Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) outlets, he was called a liar, troublemaker, and accused of politicizing the issue for personal gain.

MP Tony Pua kept the audience engrossed for almost three hours with his slides and stories
 highlighting how the government (mis)spends public funds.

Last night he shared his side of the story with the audience at a dinner-lecture organized by Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM). This morning the Star ran this report:

Removing items because of incomplete labeling? Read between the lines. (Source: The Star 4 Dec 2011)

Before he started his lecture, Pua jokingly said some in the audience might want to emigrate after hearing what he had to share that evening. As he presented chart after chart, figures after figures, you could hear gasps of horror from some people in the audience. The weak of heart would have suffered cardiac arrest at the shocking revelations - the size of government debt from overspending and over-borrowing, of contingent liabilities and the extent to which the government is milking their cash cow Petronas.

Reading the numbers is like watching a horror movie. At least the movie ends after
two hours, but not our government spending spree. It is a never-ending story. 

Emoluments and pensions eat up the biggest chunk of government expenditure. Not
surprising at all given the 1.3m civil servants and the perks they get without even asking.
Why is the government so eager to please them? The answer should be obvious.

Pua pointing to the percentage of Petronas' profit that is reinvested each year. 
It fell from a high of 42.5% in 2005 to only 13.5% in 2010! Mama Mia!

Skeptics may pooh-pooh the numbers. But time after time as each scandal is made public in both the mainstream and alternative media, it only lends credence to what the opposition has been saying all along. The ministers and BN MPs may deny everything, but when documents and receipts are produced as evidence, how much longer can they continue to claim that every scandal as an outright lie? The gross overspending and abuse of public funds as highlighted in the Auditor-General's report year after year gets from bad to worse.

The Public Services Department director-general had to issue a warning that civil servants would be held accountable for losses highlighted in the AG's report. But don't expect much to happen. The same misuse and abuse of public funds will continue to fill the pages of next year's report, and the next and the next.

For more revelations of the truth behind government mismanagement of public funds, these two books below make for compelling reading:

(Left) Teh Chi-Chang's 106-page book presents the facts in easy to understand layman's terms with illustrations by Antares, while Pua's 335-page book is literally a thesis. Both are must-reads before the next elections.

Back cover detail from Pua's first English publication "The Tiger That Lost Its Roar".