No single answer to S-E Asia's greying population

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SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (AFP): Southeast Asia must start to address the challenges posed by its growing ranks of greying citizens which, if ignored, could have long-term political implications for the region, experts say.
Some Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore are already drawing up plans to tackle the matter but others have yet to fully grasp the seriousness of the issue, they said.
"From my perspective, it is really important," said Aris Ananta, a senior research fellow with Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
"From (an) economic point of view, if there are many older people and we cannot finance them, it's a burden," he told the news agency on the sidelines of a forum on ageing organised recently by the institute.
Because numbers of elderly are increasing at a pace that varies from country to country, there is no standard formula that policymakers can adopt, experts said.
For Singapore, encouraging workers to stay employed beyond the retirement age of 62 is seen as part of the solution in a country where one in five people will be aged 65 and above by 2030. That figure compares with just one in 12 last year.
Such a policy may not be feasible for other Southeast Asian countries where the demographics are different.
"The problem will be different from one country to another," said Ananta.
Overcoming the challenge of the greying population will also require a complete change in the mindset that views older people as simply a burden, said Kalyani Mehta, associate professor from the National University of Singapore's department of social work.
"My personal view is that we still have stereotypes," Mehta said.
"Instead of constantly calculating the cost of an ageing population, it is critical that the asset aspect is publicised, more what older people can contribute both in terms of tangible and intangible ways."
Cross-border labour migration trends show the impact of an ageing population. Foreign workers-both skilled and unskilled -- are in high demand in Southeast Asian countries facing a rapidly greying society.
From wealthy Singapore to neighbouring Malaysia and oil-rich Brunei, foreign workers are a common sight as the countries seek to augment their labour pools.
"All the (Southeast Asian) countries are experiencing this phenomenon of an ageing society," said Rodolfo Severino, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 1998-2002.
"The obvious result... is that the demand for labour in ageing societies and the surplus of labour in younger societies are the twin forces interacting upon each other."
Such a situation is not likely to be sustainable in the longer term, said Severino, now a visiting senior research fellow with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
He told the forum that "you cannot just have unlimited migration because of the social impact."
Opening the doors to foreign labour can help a country with a fast-ageing population address its manpower shortage but this can also be a threat to social cohesion, Severino said.
"The entry of foreigners in certain sectors can also be viewed as an undesirable form of competition for jobs and in certain societies, the presence of foreign workers could be disruptive of racial, religious or ethnic balance in that society."
It can also lead to resentment among locals who feel their livelihood is under threat, he said.
"Indeed, the question of ageing has political implications, political repercussions and consequences and not just in individual countries but the region as a whole," said Severino.