I AGREE with Dr Lee Siew Peng ("Isolating elderly not the solution"; last Saturday). Singapore prides itself as an excellent example of social integration, where people of diverse cultures and religions can live, work and socialise together, and it is unthinkable that the elderly need to be isolated in special townships.
Dr Lee is correct that the real solution is to focus on the needs of the elderly with regard to the design of housing, the provision of services and amenities and support such as help with ordering and delivery of bulky groceries, changing of light bulbs and fixing of leaky taps.
The Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (Amcis) formed a not-for-profit company last Wednesday, known as Amcis Seniors, dedicated to providing such services to the elderly at subsidised rates.
In addition, Amcis Seniors will also group the needs of the elderly to purchase such items as health supplements, and so on, on a bulk basis to help reduce the cost of living for seniors.
As a start, 8 per cent of the gross revenue of the company would be set aside specially for the welfare of the elderly, which could include topping up of the Medisave account for retirees.
Francis Zhan
Group CEO
Association of Management Corporations in Singapore
Spore do have a large pool of poor elderly people living in the rented hdb flats.
I was doing a volunteer work and was indeed sad to see sch a bad state they are in, alone, filthy, and dirty. I wonder whether they are indeed a forgotten people living in spore.