By AZHARI KARIM 

As the years go by, many of the 24 million Malaysians will be
joining the club of retirees. For them, retirement could be
their biggest challenge yet.

The active among them will discover that life has suddenly
become a bore. With very little to do, they will wish they were
back at work and coping with the hustle and bustle of meeting
schedules and appointments. The 'busy-ness' is what keeps the
adrenalin flowing for most. Deprived of this, many will just not
cope with the inactivity.

Then there are the others who will be grateful for the time to
do things that they were not able to do before. These people
will enthusiastically apply themselves to finding something new
to do, such as enrolling in ballroom dancing classes, learning a
new game, or doing charity work and community service.

A third group will pursue the leisurely path of travels and
tours, visiting places they have never been before. With money
not being a problem anymore, they will be happy to spend the
pensions and savings that they have accumulated.

Yet another group exists, those who will pursue the intellectual
challenge of going for a second career. Indeed, most governments
encourage continuous learning as a means of "reinventing" its
aging population.

Although this is not the case in Malaysia, it is heartening to
hear that seniors are going to universities and answering the
public call for reemployment.

In all this, it is important for people to make the right
choice. A wrong one will take away our sense of pride and
confidence while a good one will, of course, raise our
self-esteem and self-worth.

Who do we turn to for help: the Government for official support
or others for sources of funds and camaraderie?

Role of the Government

The Government has to come in if only to tighten up legislation
on old-age pensions, super-annuity payments, reemployment
opportunities and other social benefits.

This must also include expanding social safety nets for
investment of retirement funds in capital-intensive projects
such as retirement villages, second-home schemes and even
after-retirement remuneration services for work done by
retirees.

The Government's main responsibility is to ensure that its
senior citizens are not short of what others are enjoying in
other countries such as Sweden, Japan and Australia.

In fact, by focusing on ensuring that its senior citizens are in
good shape even after retirement, it will send a strong message
of hope to the younger generations that there is a future for
this country.

In short, the Government needs to look into all these issues and
make them a part of its future long-term planning, i.e. the
Ninth and Tenth Malaysia Plans. It can go as far as establishing
a special unit for the aged population within an existing
ministry or department.

NGOs and the private sector

There is also a much bigger role for the private sector and the
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). What better way is there
than to get private-sector companies and institutions and the
NGOs to help underwrite the setting up of a national foundation
for the aged?

And moving from there, they could spearhead activities in
education, research and training for the aged and even embark on
starting a data-bank or other resource utility centres, and even
launch the first of its kind, a smart partnership movement for
the aged in the South countries.

What is urgently required is for us to build a vision for a
better tomorrow for the aged in this country. An important start
will be to reach out to the retirees and would-be retiree to get
their views. Their present contribution and future
accomplishments need to be mapped out so that the work of
strategising their future can begin in earnest.

Towards this end, the efforts of the Malaysian Institute of
Management (MIM) to launch a training programme for retirees
should be welcomed. The Raja Mohar Life Enrichment Awards
(Ramlea) is the third pillar of the Institute's contribution to
social management in Malaysia.

MIM had already started an annual programme to nurture
leadership qualities among junior managers, known as the Tun
Razak Youth Leadership Awards (Tryla), and the Tun Hussein Onn
Renewal Awards (Thora), an annual programme aimed at
re-energising the spirit of civil society, voluntarism and
charity for middle to senior managers.

The programmes including Ramlea have benefited from generous
sponsorships by the German-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation
(KAF).

Ramlea has been named after the late Raja Tun Mohar, who retired
at age 68 but continued to serve as chairman to numerous public
enterprises including Malaysia Airlines and Perodua, and
non-governmental organisations such as the Tun Razak Foundation.

He was President of MIM for an incredible 32 years out of its
38-year record of service to the management community. During
his service, he also led eminent and dedicated Court of Fellows
and the General Council who served the community on a voluntary
basis. He only stepped down in 2001 when he neared his 80th
birthday and because of failing health.

The late Raja Mohar left behind a legacy of total commitment to
national development by promoting, maintaining and enhancing the
highest standards of management in the context of intellectual,
emotional and spiritual well-being. These are the virtues that
the Ramlea programme seeks to instil in its participants.

Ramlea will select and sponsor 30 retirees or those aged 54 and
above for a five-day expense-paid residential workshop.

The workshop comprises group activities, talks and discussions,
visits and future-mapping of plans and strategies for the
development of retirees in their work and lifetime learning.

Participants will choose from a list of groups of activities
those they will individually or jointly be engaged in and
present as part of their Plan of Action.

The activities cover environmental protection and conservation,
community services, small business opportunities and also
intellectual pursuits involving creativity and innovation.

Ramlea will be launched on Dec 12, 2004. MIM aspires to follow
this up by organising a much larger forum for the retirees to
network.

MIM also hopes to provide a platform for the Government, the
private sector and the NGOs to come together to plan and advise
the retirees and senior citizens as a whole on what could be
done.

Azhari Karim is a retiree assisting MIM in the development of
the inaugural Raja Mohar Life Enrichment Awards programme. For
more information on Ramlea, contact MIM Customer Service at
03-21654611, e-mail enquiries@mim.edu or visit www.mim.edu.