Clarion call to help senior citizens hoping to be employed

THANK you for publishing the letters over the past weeks on the issue of senior citizens’ difficulty in securing employment after the golden handshake.

Last week’s letter from Pat Abrahams, “Working after the golden handshake” (Aug 26), noted that it is a society stigma of “over the hill” age that limits opportunities for seniors to find suitable work or even mentorships. A.Y. Yoong, J. Toh, P.S. Foong and myself have added our views to this commentary and surely the powers that be must have picked up our concerns. Or have they?

The ageing generation and population in Malaysia is not going to disappear or run away. There must be some programmes or incentives for both employable seniors and employers that the Government or private bodies can support with some initiatives, such as tax incentives, HRD funding, database (as suggested) or even a body to look into their plight.

There is TalentCorp that tries so hard to attract Malaysians from overseas to come back. The irony is that there is a huge resource of talent right at our doorsteps, and we are seniors. Where do we stand? Why are we not considered talent?

That’s why I call ourselves the forgotten generation, lost in transition even though we are still able to contribute in all kinds of possibilities. I am sure there are lots of seniors in banking, construction, service industry and education who are eager to go back to work even for less pay. But the “sorry uncle, you are over the hill” attitude among employers seems to be the main obstacle.

Pat suggested the alternative of volunteer work. Unfortunately, one would not have the mindset to volunteer if there is a financial need to fulfil first. Volunteer work is sometimes taxing and seniors would rather use that energy to make some money to survive the hardships of today.

Unfortunately too, not all were given the golden handshake by employers. In my case, there was not even a good luck handshake!

I call upon seniors in this predicament to rise up and show your concerns. And we welcome support from any private entity. What we intend to achieve is simple: firstly, awareness of the fact that seniors can and want to work beyond the 55/58 or whatever age stage. Then we want the public (employers and the Government) to recognise and take steps to help us find a footing in society. We are part of society, we are not pests. Match our experience with suitable roles. Don’t dump us in odd roles that mismatch our expertise.

There are many sectors that can tap into senior citizens’ expertise and experience but why aren’t they doing this? I am perplexed.

As I have said, TalentCorp, the HRD fund, Human Resource Ministry and private sector employers must be driven to realise this situation.

Society has to overcome that “over the hill stigma” and young people must realise that one day they will be seniors too! NOT YET YOUR UNCLE Petaling Jaya