Age-friendly environment for older people: challenges and plans

Currently, there are presently 10.7% older people in 2020 compared to 10.3% older people in 2019. The size of Malaysia’s ageing population is predicted to increase to 15% by 2030. Therefore, there is a need for literature to be used as the point of departure for an age-friendly environment discussion. Since the concept is still a relatively new idea in Malaysia, this article aims to serve as a recent review of Malaysia’s plans for the well-being of older people in terms of the development of an age-friendly environment. This article first presented the background on the ageing population in Malaysia. Further along, the article summarises the recent development of an age-friendly environment in Malaysia. Findings showed that Malaysia has challenges in terms of the built environment and social aspects in developing an age-friendly environment. Few plans have been initiated for the well-being of older people, including strengthening the healthcare and awareness programs, adopting the universal design concept, building more age-friendly facilities, and introducing a national framework for Age-Friendly City.