GEORGE TOWN: Uncle Chai (not his real name), 79, loves to visit the Jelutong wet market every morning to chit-chat with his friends in one of the coffee shops.
One day, alarm was raised when he was still not home by noon although his house was a mere 15-minute walk away.
“I don’t remember my way home,” Uncle Chai told his family when they found him sitting aimlessly at a bus stop.
Uncle Chai’s case is not uncommon, especially in a country fast turning into an ageing society.
According to statistics, about 590,000 Malaysians will have dementia by 2050. Dementia is not a part of normal ageing; it is a medical condition that causes brain cells to die at a faster rate than normal, leading to cognitive decline.
Besides memory loss that can cause the elderly to become lost and unable to find their way home when they go to crowded places, there is also the inability to think clearly, communicate or perform daily activities.
In Penang, subsidised programmes will soon be introduced through a welfare NGO, PgCare Society, with the support of state assemblymen, to equip aged family members from the low-income group with automatic GPS tracking devices.
PgCare Society chairman Dr Ngoo Seong Boon said the gadgets will be provided at an affordable price and tastefully designed as wearables – pendants or bracelets.
He said they will enhance the safety and well-being of senior citizens since their family members will be able to track their location via a phone app.
“The device also features an SOS button, allowing users to connect with up to three emergency contacts when needed.
“The bracelet, which looks like a watch, will even have the capability to make calls. Recipients will have to subscribe to a data plan,” he added.
Ngoo said the implementation will involve an initial cost of up to RM35,000 for Sirim certification.
However, efforts are underway to reduce this cost through Sirim’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, as outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed recently, he added.
Ngoo said the pilot project will involve 20 units donated by PgCare Society adviser Datuk Seri Dr Ooi Eng Hock, with 20 senior citizens slated for a free trial.
“We plan to introduce subsidised programmes for B40 families to help them equip their aged family members, with the support of assemblymen,” he said.
The device, he said, will be publicly available after Sirim has certified it by year-end.
Last month, Sirim and PgCare Society signed a memorandum of understanding on the GPS tracking device project dubbed GPS4E.
State health committee chairman Daniel Gooi said he looks forward to PgCare Society’s effort to make GPS tracking for the elderly affordable for all levels of society.
PgCare Society adviser Datuk Seri Phee Boon Poh said that lately, it has been receiving requests for help from the public whose elderly family members went missing after stepping out of the house.
Phee, a former state executive councillor, said it is a common problem that has been going on for years.
“This initiative is one of the programmes of PgCare Society, which recognises that Penang has the highest ageing population in Malaysia.
“Many retirees reside here, and the device will significantly benefit them,” he added.
He also said the device can be used by the tourism industry, given that Penang is a popular tourist destination and visitors often venture into forests and sometimes get lost.
He said hotel guests, for instance, can rent the device and in case of an emergency, they can press the SOS button.
Phee said the device has many more potential applications and the goal is for every household in Penang to have one.
He said he first proposed it for the Sungai Puyu constituency, where he was the assemblyman for five terms.
“If it proves successful, we plan to make it available throughout Malaysia,” he said.
In the Statistics Department’s report on the country’s population estimates for 2024, of the 34.1 million population, 2.6 million are 65 years old and above, making up 7.7% of the total.
In 2024, the population of 60 years and over will increase to 3.9 million (11.6%), up from 3.8 million (11.3%) in 2023, the report added.
