The government is to implement a diagnostic study to develop an integrated and sustainable long-term model for the care of elderly people, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.

She said the move was aimed at improving and enhancing the National Plan of Action for Older Persons under the National Policy for Older Persons and that the study was necessary because many children neglected their parents due to their work and they themselves were under pressure from their economic well-being and lives.

“We have to look at it comprehensively because it is also wrong to penalise but not solve the problem,” she said after launching Tasputra Perkim, a day-care and training centre for children with disabilities, in Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier, in her speech, Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said voluntary welfare organisations were seen as a potent force that could mobilise efforts to improve social well-being in society.

She said the ministry acting alone would be unable to address all issues faced by women, families and the community.

“Smart partnerships with voluntary organisations are one of the most effective methods of implementation.

“We at the ministry always welcome commitment and encourage voluntary welfare organisations and the corporate sector to establish the necessary synergy in implementing the responsibility,” she said.

Wan Azizah said that last year, the ministry, through the Social Welfare Department, spent RM13.67 million on 224 voluntary welfare organisations, including those bodies which operated daycare centres such as Tasputra Perkim.

She said Tasputra Perkim received RM52,200 as allowances for people with disabilities and RM33,132 as grants for children’s food and drinks from the Social Welfare Department.

Wan Azizah said she encouraged the sharing of knowledge to enable voluntary organisations running care centres to learn the best practices for use at their respective centres.

She called on voluntary welfare organisations not to be overly dependent and rely on grants provided by the ministry for their programmes and activities.

She expressed the hope that those organisations that had received the government grants would be able to function on their own with support and aid from the corporate sector and other sources of finance.

- Bernama