Abstract:

The 4th Malaysian Population and Family Study by the National Population and Family Development Board1, which was matched with the result of the population and housing census in 2010 found that about 23%, or 538,000 of the 2.4 million senior citizens in Malaysia suffered from the 'empty nest' syndrome. A report issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) stated that 90% of the contributors towards the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in Malaysia did not even have enough money to live a simple lifestyle for a period of five years after retirement. United Nation projected that the country will achieve the status (ageing country) in year 2030. Malaysia in an upper middle-income country and as of 1 January 2016, the population of Malaysia was estimated to be 31,127,247 people. This is an increase of 1.58 % (482,954 people) compared to 30,644,293 people the year before. In 2015, the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 494,905. Due to external migration, the population declined by 11,951. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.029 (1,029 males per 1,000 females), which is higher than the global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1,016 males to 1,000 females as of 2015.2 This paper analyses the Malaysia government policies and protections in overcoming ageing society and preparing to support and assist the ageing population by 2035. The researcher uses doctrinal research methodology and secondary statistic from the authorities for this research to gather the data and examining the policies. Interestingly, despite the policies and protections suggested and implemented by the government, there are still much more the government needs to do to overcome the challenges faced by the ageing society in Malaysia.