Perak exco hopes Budget 2027 will prioritise welfare of older rural residents

The Perak state government is seeking special provisions in Budget 2027 for senior citizens in rural areas, focusing on housing, basic amenities, mobility, and digital access.

Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun emphasised the need to prioritise constructing new houses and repairing dilapidated ones, especially for the B40 community in rural areas.

He also highlighted the importance of creating a rural economic ecosystem to generate employment and entrepreneurship opportunities as well as strengthening skills for the agri-food sector.

IPOH, Sept 5 — The Perak state government hopes Budget 2027 will give special attention to the welfare of senior citizens in rural areas, covering housing, basic amenities, mobility as well as digital access.

State Rural Development, Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industry Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun said the attention was important with the increasing elderly population in the state, as well as the migration of young people to urban areas, which resulted in some senior citizens in rural areas, especially those living alone, to face limited access to support facilities.

“The situation is more challenging for senior citizens who live alone or still reside in dilapidated houses and have inadequate basic amenities.

“Based on the information received, residents aged 65 and above in Perak accounted for about 10.2 per cent or approximately 267,600 people in 2025,” he told Bernama.

He also drew attention to housing, stressing that serious attention was needed as there were still low-income (B40) groups in rural areas living in houses that were too dilapidated and no longer economically viable to repair.

“Hence, Perak hopes Budget 2027 can give priority to the construction of new houses and repairs of dilapidated houses, particularly through the People’s Prosperity Housing Programme (PPRS).

“Priority should be given to the rural B40 group living in houses that are too dilapidated and no longer economically viable to repair,” Mohd Zolkafly said.

The Lintang assemblyman also highlighted the importance of creating a rural economic ecosystem to open up more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for youths.

He said rural development should not focus solely on providing basic amenities, but should also be supported by an economic ecosystem capable of offering sustainable employment opportunities and sources of income to address the migration of young people to urban areas.

“The main challenge is the migration of youths. We cannot blame them because everyone is seeking better opportunities in life, so our responsibility is to bring those economic opportunities to rural areas,” he said.

In addition, Mohd Zolkafly said strong support from the Federal Government was needed in local economic development, agro-entrepreneurship, micro-businesses, food processing industries as well as the digital economy.

Such efforts should be directed at ensuring community entrepreneurs, particularly rural youths, have skills that match industry needs, including the agri-food sector, which is increasingly dependent on technology, mechanisation and automation.

He also suggested strengthening human capital through the Skills and Career Training Programme, which offers the Malaysian Skills Certificate.

“The focus is particularly on producing skilled human capital in the agri-food, mechanisation, automation and agricultural technology sectors,” he said. — Bernama

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霹雳州政府正在寻求在 2027 年财政预算案中为农村地区的老年人提供特别条款，重点关注住房、基本生活设施、出行和数字接入。

拿督莫哈末佐卡夫利·哈伦强调，必须优先建造新房和修缮破旧房屋，特别是对于农村地区的 B40 群体而言。

他还强调了创建农村经济生态系统的重要性，以创造就业和创业机会，并加强农业食品部门的技能。

怡保，9月5日讯——霹雳州政府希望2027年财政预算案能够特别关注农村地区老年人的福利，涵盖住房、基本生活设施、出行以及数字技术接入等方面。

州乡村发展、种植园、农业和食品工业委员会主席拿督莫哈末·佐卡夫利·哈伦表示，鉴于该州老年人口不断增加，以及年轻人向城市地区迁移，导致一些农村地区的老年人，特别是独居老人，获得支持设施的机会有限，因此关注这个问题非常重要。

“对于独居或仍居住在破旧房屋中且基本生活设施不足的老年人来说，情况更加严峻。

“根据我们掌握的信息，到2025年，霹雳州65岁及以上居民约占总人口的10.2%，即约267,600人，”他告诉马新社。

他还特别提到了住房问题，强调需要认真对待，因为农村地区仍有低收入群体（B40）居住在破旧不堪、不再具有经济可行性的房屋中。

“因此，霹雳州希望 2027 年财政预算案能够优先考虑建造新房和修缮破旧房屋，特别是通过人民繁荣房屋计划 (PPRS)。

“应该优先考虑居住在破旧不堪、维修成本过高的农村B40群体，”莫哈末·佐卡夫利说。

林塘议员还强调了创建农村经济生态系统的重要性，以便创造更多的就业和创业机会，特别是为年轻人创造机会。

他表示，农村发展不应仅仅关注提供基本生活设施，还应得到能够提供可持续就业机会和收入来源的经济生态系统的支持，以解决年轻人向城市地区迁移的问题。

他说：“主要挑战是青年人口外流。我们不能责怪他们，因为每个人都在寻求更好的生活机会，所以我们的责任是将这些经济机会带到农村地区。”

此外，莫哈末佐卡菲利表示，地方经济发展、农业创业、微型企业、食品加工业以及数字经济都需要联邦政府的大力支持。

这些努力应该旨在确保社区企业家，特别是农村青年，拥有符合行业需求的技能，包括日益依赖技术、机械化和自动化的农业食品部门。

他还建议通过技能和职业培训计划来加强人力资本，该计划提供马来西亚技能证书。

他表示：“重点尤其在于培养农产品食品、机械化、自动化和农业技术领域的技能型人才。”——马新社

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