August 7, 2024
JAKARTA – Who is taking care of the elderly? Under the prevailing Indonesian cultural concept of extended family, it is a no brainer that their children and grandchildren are. But now, with modernization, and the trend toward smaller and two-income families, there is no longer a guarantee the elderly can count on the support of their offspring in their twilight years.
The state must step in, not in assuming that responsibility, but in terms of coming up with policies and regulations to ensure that the nation’s elderly are properly cared for and pass their remaining years with dignity.
Indonesia may be enjoying the demographic bonus from having a proportionally large young working-age population, but the nation must prepare for the coming ageing society, which, once it starts, the size of the elderly population will rapidly grow.
We should avoid repeating the mistake we made in squandering the bonus. We knew then that it was coming and we had plenty of discussions about it, but we did little in preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime chance that comes to any society. Had we had the right policies in place, Indonesia could have cashed in a lot more on this population dividend. Now with the inevitable ageing society, we need to do better.
Currently the size of the elderly population, defined as those above 60 years, accounts for 10 percent of Indonesia’s population of 280 million people, according to the official census. This will double by 2045, Indonesia’s “Golden Year” when we celebrate the centenary of independence. When this happens, make sure no elderly person is left behind.
Better access to healthcare facilities, including the national healthcare program introduced in 2015, has helped in extending Indonesia’s life expectancy to 72 years from 65 at the turn of the millennium. This being an average number, many will live on many years beyond that. But we have no clear policies to ensure that they will be properly cared for.
The 1998 Welfare of the Elderly Law has clearly been outdated by changing circumstances. The law is limited to caring for those who need state assistance, meaning those who have no relatives to count on, or those who are being neglected. The help prescribed is limited, and its implementation falls short. More than 26 years later, only 168 of 416 regencies/mayoralties have set up the mandated committees for the elderly.
Being a late-comer to the world’s ageing nations group, Indonesia can learn from other countries how they care for the elderly. The burden still falls upon society, but the state must come up with the right policies and regulations, including fiscal incentives to encourage investment from the private sector, whether it is for-profit or not-for-profit enterprises.
This is also a problem of attitude. Social Services Minister Tri Rismaharini did not help when she deplored the rise of old peoples’ homes in the country as “cruel” and “going against Indonesian values and faith”, in a speech celebrating National Elderly Day in May.
She, of all the people, should help encourage the growth of these homes. These old people’s homes emerge because there is a growing need for them. It is one of the solutions to help ensure the care of the elderly, and the government should help promote them.
A draft bill to amend the 1998 law lingers in the House of Representatives’ National Legislative Agenda list, but it is one of more than 200 drafts. Someone should see to it that the House deliberates the bill and enacts the law soon.
There is hope now with president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who will turn 72 when he is inaugurated in October. It is incumbent that he pushes for the laws and regulations to ensure that the elderly are well cared for. While he personally is already cared for given his position and wealth, many of his peers in the military are not.
The Gen Xs and millennials, who are now in control of the future of the nation, also need to act, if not for the sake of the Boomers, then for their own. For they too will age someday.