©The Star (Used with permission) Sunda= y July 6, 2008

Senior citizens face hard times

By HARIATI AZIZAN

GET a second job, open a stall and walk more – = some of the inflation-coping measures recommended by the Government for low-inco= me earners may be effective, unless you are old and weak.

In fact, for the majority of senior citizens in the country (aged 60 and over), the recommendations may be near impossible to d= o.

As retired teacher Peter Ovinis<= /span>, 69, points out, “Many are frail and weak; even walking out of their h= ouse is difficult, so how can they walk around or go out and work?”

Painful process: Queuing at government hospitals is tough o= n old people but many cannot afford to go to private hospitals.

Since the petrol price hike was implemented last mont= h, its knock-on effects, particularly the spiralling prices of groceries and transport, have hit almost everyone hard.

While the Government has come up with various schemes= to ease the financial pain of the common folk, one group that may need more he= lp is the senior citizens.

According to the Malaysian Census, in 2007, some 1.8 million (7%) Malaysians are aged 60 or over, and this figure is projected to rise to 3.6 million (11%) in 2020.

More than 300,000 receive a pension from the Governme= nt while others are living off their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) payout, savings, property rentals, small businesses and contribution from their children.

However, with the rising inflation rate, many have discovered that the real value of their savings and income has diminished significantly. Monthly expenses have gone up, thus eating into savings and bursting budgets.

For government pensioners, who are drawing about 50% = of their old salary, coping in the current economic climat= e can be even more trying.

Clerical and support staff, says Ovinis, suffer the most as they were paid from RM300 to 600 a month, “Their pension will come up to RM150 to RM300 per month. And that is not enough to survive on today.”

Hence, many were elated to receive a pension hike when the Government raised the salary of the civil service. In May this year, th= ey received more goodies when the Government announced that it is recalculatin= g pension payment based on a maximum of 30 years of service, up from 25 years. Schedu= led to take effect from January 2009, this will give retirees another increase = in their pension.

However, their joy was short-lived when the fuel hike= was announced a month later.

“Many pensioners welcomed the first raise with = the soaring prices of things but we only had a few months to enjoy it. Now with= the fuel price hike, many will need extra money to cope. They will not be able = to wait until next January,” he laments.

It is even worse for those with young and school-going children.

Pensioner Zainal Ariffin, 60, for one, has been struggling in the past= year to put food on the table for his family of six, which includes his 80-year-= old mother, 53-year-old wife, three school-going children and a daughter in university.

“I married late, so my children are still going= to school while my oldest is doing her degree in Universi= ti Putra Malaysia. Although she gets a scholarship, she still needs help with some extra expenditure. I am not ashamed to admit that it is getting hard to provide f= or my family,” he says.

Zainal confides that he has been looking for work to supplement his pension but not many people are eager to hire retirees while migrant workers are doing most= of the non-skilled jobs. To ease the pressure off him as the sole breadwinner = of the family, he says, his wife has started a kuih stall.

“I receive a meagre monthly pension and after paying all my bills, I am left with less than RM5= 00. I have to stretch every ringgit f= or my family, so my wife decided to help out,” he says.
Norina Abdullah, 58, who is receiving a derivative pension of about RM1,400 a month after her husband passed away more than e= ight years ago, says that her pension was enough for her and her two young sons = to live on but now that her health is worsening, it is becoming a bit of a struggle.

“Although we get free treatment and consultatio= n at the government hospital, we have to pay for our medication ourselves. The p= rice of medicine has gone up,” says Norina who= is suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

Although pensioners with specific ailments can get a reimbursement for medication that are not availa= ble in government hospitals, the process takes at least three months.

Under the current system, says N= orina, pensioners have to forward their claims to the Public Services Department i= n Putrajaya, supported by the specialist's prescription, another letter of recommendation from the same specialist, the original cash bill from the pharmacy, copies of pensioner's card and identity card.<= /o:p>

“The process is too much of a hassle, and the refund is slow. Many pensioners find it difficult to cope due to the delay = in getting refunds,” she says.

Ovinis agrees, saying that the queues at government hospitals are also long, and a= re set to be longer with the current economic climate.

“Queuing is a painful thing for old people but = many cannot afford to go to private hospitals,” he shares, before stressing that the solution is really simple.

“Actually, all we need are small changes. For example, what would really help is for the hospitals to create an express l= ane for pensioners and senior citizens. Or they can have attendants ready with wheelchairs to help the senior citizens who are too weak to walk. Is that t= oo much to ask after we have served the public for more than 30 years?” = he asks.

Less mobility

Norina, who is living in Ipoh, says in addition to the soaring medical bill, her cab fares to the hospital= and pharmacy have also gone up since the petrol hike.

“I have to go to the hospital twice a month and these trips are getting more and more expensive. Although the government has assured that taxi fares would not be affected, it is a different story outs= ide Kuala Lumpur. In = Ipoh, taxi fares = have gone up by RM3. It is difficult to blame them though because many are using petrol, as (natural) gas is hard to get outside KL. Getting a bus is diffic= ult for old people like me because the bus service here is bad,” she says= .

Ovinis opines that the public transport is not senior citizen-friendly in the capi= tal.

“It's true that in KL the public transport serv= ice is better but it is still not old-people friendly. To get to the bus stops,= you usually need to walk far and cross the busy roads or climb the overhead pedestrian walkways. This is difficult for old people who cannot walk fast = or have the strength to climb stairs.

“Once on the bus you get pushed around because = the buses are usually over-crowded. And then, not many people will give up their seats for the elderly, so you have to stand, and when the bus brakes, you f= all or stumble,” he says, adding that public transport can still be expen= sive for some pensioners. The Government should provide discounts or free rides = for pensioners and senior citizens, he stresses.

Still, he adds, many retirees who are able or can aff= ord do drive their own cars.

“A full tank for my car used to be around RM55 = to RM60, now it is about RM90. Now, I still put in RM60 but it only lasts about three-and-a-half days. Driving is no longer a pleasure; I've become more calculative,” he says.

These days, = Ovinis, who lives in Old Klang Road, only leaves = his home when it is absolutely necessary, cutting down on leisure and recreatio= n. However, like many urban folk, Ovinis help= s out with his grandchildren, which requires him to commute daily from his home to Sri Damansara.

“I still drive out every day because I am helpi= ng my daughter to pick up her children from school while she is at work. I have been forced to reschedule their pick-up time though to save petrol.

“My two youngest grandchildren finish kindergar= ten earlier than their sister at primary school but because picking them up fir= st would require me to backtrack quite far, I now pick up their sister first before heading off to the kindergarten to pick them up and send them home.<= o:p>

“So, the victims of the petrol hike are the lit= tle children who now have to wait an hour after they finish school before they = are taken home,” he says.

Ovinis feels that the quality of his family life has been affected since the fuel price hike.

“It's not just about cutting down on your groceries. I used to go to Seremban to see my children every fortnight, and to Johor Baru to visit my mother, now I think twice before doi= ng that,” he says.

Similarly, Norina shares = that her children have cut down their trips home to visit her due to the high pe= trol price.

“I get upset when I think about it but I know t= hat I am still luckier than some pensioners who barely have enough to survive on.” she says.

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