Direct naar content

Assignment: Ageing without a safety net in Malaysia

Industrialisation, modern cityscapes and strong economic growth promote an image of a youthful, vigorous Malaysia. But the country is now ageing rapidly, and this sudden transformation seems to have caught many - including the government - by surprise: Despite their country’s development, millions have little or no retirement income and face destitution or dependence in their golden years. What little provision is available was compromised during the Covid pandemic when the government allowed workers to withdraw retirement funds just to survive lockdown. Those who did so can now have almost nothing left in their accounts. Without any universal pension, many older Malaysians rely on their families – but younger relatives are often struggling in a low wage economy and find it increasingly difficult to provide for anyone but themselves. As Claire Bolderson reports, Malaysians may have to change their attitudes to retirement and to saving if they are to avoid the spectre of serious poverty in old age.

Datum:
Duur:

Meer afleveringen van The Documentary Podcast

  • Stories from the New Silk Road: The ‘frenemy’

    Katy Watson highlights Australia’s complex, turbulent and evolving relationship with their number one trading partner - China. Having signed a free trade agreement eleven years ago, in recent years there has been a marked shift in...
  • Clever ways to cut waste from nappies to games and desks

    We look at three solutions connected to the “three Rs” – reduce, reuse and recycle. The city of Brussels in Belgium is in the process of moving all 40 municipal nurseries over to reusable nappies – and have managed to do it without...
  • Turkey on trial: Can courts control a nation?

    Political analysts and human rights organisations say Turkey's courts are increasingly being used to silence political dissent and to shape a more socially conservative society. The most prominent defendant is Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor...