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Penang Island has successfully fulfilled the application to join the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities & Communities. The island, however, is also grappling with congestion, heritage pressures, tourism growth, and liveability challenges. How will the Penang Island City Council balance these competing demands while planning for an older population? On this episode of #ConsiderThis Melisa Idris speaks with Datuk Rajendran P. Anthony, Mayor of the City Council of Penang Island.
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00:00Hello and good evening. I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome to Consider This. This is the show
00:15where we want you to consider and reconsider what you know of the news of the day. Penang
00:20Island has successfully fulfilled the application to join the WHO's global network for age-friendly
00:28cities and communities. The island, however, is also grappling with issues of congestion,
00:36heritage pressures, tourism growth and liveability challenges. So how will Penang Island City Council
00:43balance these competing demands while at the same time planning for an older population?
00:49Joining me on the show to discuss this further, I'm delighted to introduce Dato Rajendran P. Anthony,
00:54who is the mayor of City Council of Penang Island. Dato Rajendran, welcome to the show. It's good of
01:00you to join me. Thank you for making the trip from Penang. So let's, first of all, congratulations
01:05on successfully joining the WHO global network for age-friendly cities and communities.
01:13Having said that, I'm curious to know what that membership actually means. So now that you're part
01:19of this really great club, what does that actually mean for the everyday residents of Georgetown?
01:25Yeah, actually the population in Penang consists of 8.4% aging population, which means that more
01:37than 7% of our population is aging. At present, it is 8.4. When we registered with WHO, the global
01:47network for age-friendly cities and communities, we were at 7.7% population and these two years,
01:56we have gone up 0.7%. Oh wow. So in 2023, when you first started this process, it was 7.7% aging
02:05population. Now it's 8.4. It's gone up. Yes. Quickly. So yes. So WHO states that if you are 7% and above
02:15until 13% of the population, you are an aging community. And if you are from 14% to 19%, you are an
02:25aged community. And if the percentage increases and hits 20%, you are a super aged community.
02:36So for the residents of Georgetown, what has that meant? The fact that, you know, the city council is now
02:54part of, is part of the global network. When you want to, you aspire to become an age-friendly city,
03:02how does it feel on the ground for the everyday citizen? So being a part of this community,
03:10we want to promote healthy and active aging. But before we do that, we had registered with WHO
03:18to show our commitment. And based on this, we had to come up with, fulfill the guidelines and
03:25aspirations of WHO for us to actually be included as an age-friendly city. For this purpose,
03:34WHO had defined eight domains, structured domains, which we have to follow and implement. And we
03:47had implemented immediately after our, we joining the global network, we embarked on this plan to come up
03:57with an strategic action plan. This strategic action plan is for becoming an age-friendly city. And based on the
04:10guide from WHO, we engage with our local community, the local people, the public, because our 2030 vision,
04:21Penang 2030 vision by the chief minister of Penang, said that we have to engage. And we want to empower people in our decision making.
04:29So before we came up with the strategic action plan, we engage with our people to see what they wanted out of this.
04:37Okay. And based on their feedback, we came up with this strategic action plan for a period of three to five years.
04:44But we will need to have more strategic plans later on. But for this initial period, we came up with this strategic plan for these eight domains.
04:56So the eight domains are everything from outdoor spaces and building, transportation, housing, social participation,
05:03social inclusion, civic participation, communication, and also community support and health services.
05:10So I really like that these are really strong domains.
05:14But a lot of what I see as part of what's being described as part of age-friendly cities, it looks like good urban planning, right?
05:25So it has the same kind of pillars as good urban planning.
05:28What sets it apart from being just good urban planning to being an age-friendly city?
05:35Is there anything different that the city council is doing in terms of planning or budgeting?
05:42Yeah. So we have to, for this, to become an aging city actually, we have needed to hit the population.
05:50But what are the strategies? So we have to come up with policies, plans, programs, and projects to actually attain this becoming an age-friendly city.
06:01So we have come up with a lot of initiatives and programs to fulfill the needs of the World Health Organization.
06:13Any initiatives that stand out to you as, you know, you're particularly proud of, that the city council is particularly proud of?
06:20Actually, there are many. What we have done since we became, we registered ourselves in September, in July 2023, till today, we have done a lot.
06:33But our journey started 10, 15 years ago.
06:36Oh, really?
06:37Because we had come up with, we wanted to be friendly. I mean, we wanted to create infrastructure which is friendly to all age groups.
06:47Not only the aging, but the disabled, the children, and etc.
06:51So we started about 15 years ago, and we came up with a universal design initiative.
06:58That means, whatever we created, it was friendly to all different groups of people, and it is according to the Malaysian Standard 1184.
07:09So we imposed this condition on new development. At the same time, we budgeted about few million ringgit, usually in the range of three to five million, to implement projects to create universal design features along the workways, along the public facilities, and etc.
07:29So we started 15 years ago, but having said that, coming to this stage now, we still have to do more. It's actually a long-term effort, progressive and continuous effort.
07:39But we are doing it, we are doing it. And not only about workways or pavement, it is the public transport, it is housing, and many others, all that which are in the domain, we are doing it.
07:53Do you find that it is particularly more challenging for Penang Island?
08:00I mean, we all know that the challenges, the constraints that Penang Island faces in terms of, you know, congestion, and it's already its built environment.
08:09There's not that many ways that you can kind of, you're not planning a city from scratch. Let's just say that.
08:16So are there challenges in particular for Penang Island in trying to make the city more age-friendly, in implementing some of these initiatives that you talked about, including public transport, including housing, when the roads are so narrow and congested already, and housing is from many, many decades ago?
08:36Yeah. It's a long-term effort. But what I want to say, if I were to zoom in on certain features, certain aspects of Penang, I mean, we know that transportation is quite congested, but we are coming up with measures.
08:54The LRT system, the LRT system, the federal government, is kind enough to implement the first LRT line, the Mutiara line in Penang. That would, of course, help.
09:07And we are creating a lot of one-way streets. We are widening the roads. But the, I mean, the congestion is still there. We need to do more.
09:20What we have doing now is we are, we have coming out with a study to see whether we need to actually restrict vehicles.
09:29And what are the measures? Many other measures, apart from creating efficient public transport system, what are the other measures we should do?
09:38Of course, housing is one part of the whole picture. We, in Penang, in City Council of Penang, we have 1,555 housing units for the B40.
09:50So we, we allocate this only for the B40 group at a subsidised rental rate. So this helps out a lot. And more than 50% of these units house ageing people.
10:03So they save the family or stay alone. And we give priority to this group of people so that we can, we can improve the condition.
10:13So 50% of the B40 population that stay in these low-cost housing are elderly, are ageing. So it's imperative that, you know, that's really very crucial that you get the housing correct for more age-friendly housing.
10:29Yes, yes.
10:31Let's focus on mobility, traffic for instance, in terms of mobility. When you talk about, you know, having the LRT, having maybe a study to restrict traffic, maybe one-way roads, I do wonder, all of that is wonderful for making the city more age-friendly.
10:51But do you have to navigate short-term trade-offs? Not everyone will be happy with the idea of making Georgetown more accessible or more walkable.
11:05There will be people, businesses maybe who will be affected. So how do you balance those trade-offs?
11:11Of course, I mean, it's not only about traffic, it's also creating an environment where people can access, I mean, all parts of Penang, making it barrier-free and et cetera.
11:27And now there's another issue which is, you know, heat island effect where people walk along the street, they feel the heat because the heat is coming from the top, from the building, from the ground.
11:39So we are trying to resolve all this actually by coming up with a project called Penang Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Program, which is actually funded by UN Habitat and also MBPP, City Council of Penang Island.
12:01And older people are more affected by climate change, by the climate crisis for sure.
12:07Yes, correct, yes. So we are coming up with more street line, streets with trees along the road, three line streets, and permeable walkways.
12:22And then we have a digital box to indicate to people what is the weather line, the temperature, the humidity, the air quality, and et cetera.
12:30So they can take precautions, right? If it's a hot day, you know, get some sunshade or something.
12:36But in terms of public transportation, we know that public transportation is actually the problem solver when it comes to congestion.
12:49So in Penang, public transport, public bus service is provided free through Penang actually.
12:58And then in addition, the City Council of Penang Island provides free shuttle service within Georgetown.
13:04And recently we approved another line, free shuttle service from Georgetown to the hospitals.
13:11So we are actually trying to encourage people to use public transport to actually release some of the congestion within the city centre.
13:20So this will allow for older persons to have health service access?
13:25Yes, yes. Through public.
13:27This also involves the ageing society.
13:30Okay.
13:31Well, so all of these initiatives, everything from, you know, permeable walkway and having these shuttles,
13:38was this already part of the plan from the beginning?
13:42You talked about how, you know, all of this began 15 years ago.
13:45Yeah.
13:46But were there things that you, were there lessons that you learnt by watching other states or other countries who had implemented age-friendly initiatives that,
13:58on the global network of age-friendly cities and communities, did you look at them and search for lessons?
14:06Yeah, of course. I mean, housing is one of the issues we will face and also health services.
14:12Because, I told you just now, the ageing population was 7.7% of the population when we started.
14:19And now it is already 8.4% and it's going, the figure is going.
14:24The, we expect to be an age city that is 14% of the population aged above 65 years.
14:31That we expect, it is projected in 2.0.4.0.
14:36Oh, wow.
14:37We will hit that mark.
14:38So, we have to get prepared from now on.
14:42Housing is one of the issues as people, the population increases, the care services, the old folks home, the health services has to improve.
14:53That's why we want to promote active and healthy ageing.
14:57So that people are productive even in their twilight years.
15:02They are aware that they need to keep themselves healthy.
15:06And we will do the health screening and provide all the services.
15:10We create the programs and also the education to make them more aged healthily and actively.
15:20And that's a great point because when you think about age friendliness, it's not just the physical, right?
15:26It's not just about taking care of mobility and in the walkways and all of that.
15:31It's also about addressing social inclusion and digital literacy and community engagement.
15:40Is MPPP looking at that as well?
15:42Yeah, we're looking at everything.
15:44Digital literacy is something we, I mean, we have town hall sessions to teach them how to use phones, handphones.
15:50Some of them, the aging group, they have difficulty in, you know, not so tech savvy as the younger generation.
15:57And also scams, we tell them how to avoid scams and so on.
16:01So it's all part of, you know, creating this awareness and education to become an aged citizen.
16:10Has that changed the nature of the portfolio for the City Council of Penang?
16:18Did you have to, previously before this, have to worry about digital literacy of the population?
16:24Because, you know, you think of city councils and you think of all the local government services, right,
16:31that keeps your day-to-day running.
16:33You rarely think about the social fabric, what keeps our society together, particularly the marginalised,
16:41older people, the people with disabilities and the like.
16:45We have to make them part of the community, make them inclusive in everything we do.
16:52Economy, social, civic participation, cultural and spiritual even.
17:01We have to be, they have to be involved in all, because we don't want to leave them out.
17:06Because most of the time, the aging people are left out of all this, you know.
17:11In fact, when they retire, they, I mean, most of them, I mean, some of them, the savings are gone.
17:20So we want to also ask them, educate them to save.
17:24Financial literacy.
17:26Yeah, in their twilight years, they may need it.
17:28Most likely they will need it.
17:30And also health insurance.
17:32All this must come in so that they are able to take care of themselves when they are in this group.
17:39Have you had feedback from the community when you go and speak to, you know, older adults in the community?
17:49What kind of feedback have you received from residents so far?
17:52I think the feedback is quite positive.
17:55Okay.
17:56In fact, 80% support our initiative because we do engagement all the time.
18:01Because the 9, 20, 30 vision talks about empowerment.
18:06And this, I mean, we do public surveys.
18:11We have focus group discussions.
18:14We go to these homes where they are living and we get feedback from them.
18:20But not only them.
18:21It involves the whole range of community from the younger generation to them, to the aging group.
18:27So the feedback is quite very positive when it comes to aging, age-friendly city initiatives.
18:35Yes.
18:36Any areas that they think could be improved?
18:40Yes.
18:41There are a lot of things to improve, actually.
18:42It is a progressive initiative.
18:44The progressive measures we are taking, it takes a long time to actually become truly age-friendly.
18:51But I can say that our financial, what we receive from our taxes is limited.
19:00And our resources are also limited.
19:02But we are doing things progressively, continuously.
19:07Small it may be, but one day it will fulfill people's requirements.
19:13That's a really interesting point because when you think about many of the services that matter to seniors, right?
19:20You think about health, public housing, public transport, all of that sits either with the states or federal agencies, right?
19:30How has the coordination been?
19:31Yeah.
19:32When you think about the, have there been, has it been easy to coordinate all the different moving parts of wanting to make a city age-friendly?
19:42Yeah.
19:43We have a state executive councillor, Yang Berhormat Lin Sui Kim, who is actually looking seriously into all this.
19:51So we are happy that we can work with the state government, but it's not only the state government.
19:57It is also the federal government.
19:59That's right.
20:00Yeah.
20:01In state level and federal level, it's the ministry, women, family, community development ministry, and also the social welfare department.
20:12All these people, and also the health services, very important that they come together.
20:17And now, we are actually having, engaging them also to actually do health screenings.
20:23Okay.
20:24And also, go to the community themselves and check on their health, and probably provide medical care after that.
20:30So, all this we are doing, not alone, but with the help of other departments and agencies.
20:35So, at the start of the conversation, you said that it took, you started 15 years ago, right?
20:42Yeah.
20:43To see the progress, you had to start 15 years ago.
20:46We have the, you have until 2040 before Pinang Island becomes an aged city.
20:53So, in the 15 years, next 15 years, what's next then for Pinang Island City Council?
21:03Yeah.
21:04I'm wondering whether there will be an opportunity to make Pinang State, not just an age-friendly city, but an age-friendly state even.
21:15Is Rang Parai going to join into the efforts to make it age-friendly?
21:20Yeah.
21:21They are being included now.
21:22Okay.
21:23Of course, we started first.
21:24They are also doing.
21:26I mean, they are already registered and they are coming up with their own policies and plans and strategies to be an aging society.
21:35So, I just want to talk about some of the initiatives, hopefully you can allow me, that we have done.
21:42We, actually, the City Council of Pinang Island, one of our premises, a bungalow, we have converted it into for the community services, for the age-friendly community services and their activities.
21:55So, we are providing them with a very low rental.
22:00In fact, we are even subsidizing the rental to make it free.
22:03And we have a call center within these premises, meant by themselves.
22:08A call center?
22:09A call center where they can call out to the people in need.
22:13And we have provided a mobility van with a lift for a ramp and lift for wheelchair users.
22:21So, and the second van just arrived.
22:24So, we are providing this service so that we can engage with this, communicate with these people and provide them the service directly.
22:33Because some of them just can't get out of their bed or they can't leave their homes.
22:37And we are providing these services. Some of them even die on their beds and people do not know about it.
22:43So, this is how we want to connect with these people and make this program available to them.
22:50I mean to the hospital. Some of them can't move to the hospital by themselves.
22:56So, these services will help them.
22:58So, they have a number to call to ask for help?
23:00Yes, yes. The call center.
23:02And it's meant by the aging people. So, they know how to communicate with them and they may probably know the problems they are facing.
23:11So, can I ask you what powers or what resources are still needed for the City Council, for the Pinang Island City Council to be able to build on this momentum?
23:25Yeah.
23:26You talked about how, you know, you have constraints. There's only so much tax that you collect from your residents.
23:32Yeah.
23:33What more would you need to make sure that you achieve what you want to achieve?
23:38We want the private sector to be more involved.
23:42In what way?
23:43Like, one example I can tell you. I mean, we realize that the aging group needs employment.
23:51And council, the City Council of Pinang Island, we have engaged 10 of them.
23:56But we have a long list. Actually, when we opened up, there were a lot of people applying but we selected the first 10.
24:03They are doing urban farming, office jobs, you know, cleanliness works and many other things, even clerical works they are doing to help us.
24:12This employment part of, is part of the, of creating an inclusive society for these aging people.
24:22So, we have done that. And now we have engaged with the Hoteliers Association.
24:27They've also employed some aging people. We just want more private sector to be involved.
24:33Now we are going, we are having, going to have discussion with the manufacturing industry to see how they can actually employ some of them.
24:43Because these aging people, some of them are very mentally alert. They are intelligent and they are physically active.
24:50So, we need to give them a chance. Because when they lose, lose, there must be self-sustenance. If not, the dignity, I mean, the respect and dignity we want them to have for lifelong.
25:04Yeah, be part, be part of the community. I'm sure they have so much more to give still, right?
25:09Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:10Well, Dr. Rejin, it's been a pleasure talking to you. Thank you, thank you so much.
25:13Thank you so much for telling us about what's happening in Penang Island now.
25:16Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.
25:17That's all the time we have for you on this episode of Consider This.
25:21I'm Melissa Idris signing off for the evening. Thank you so much for watching and good night.
25:25Good night.
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