Saturday April 19, 2008

Seniors, Selangor wants your expertise

By WANI MUTHIAH

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim wants senior citizens in the state to volunteer their expertise and to actively participate in programmes organised for them.

He added that although they are retired, senior citizens could play an active role in serving the community.

“For instance, those who are former headmasters could give talks to youngsters about their career and accountants can talk about the educational requirements one needs to get into the profession,’’ he said.

He added that Selangor, which has adopted the lifelong learning philosophy, also encouraged senior citizens to pursue self-improvement programmes and courses to further enhance their expertise and experience.

Khalid who spoke to reporters Saturday after launching the Shah Alam City Senior Citizens Club’s annual general meeting here said that 48% of Selangor’s five million residents were senior citizens.

He added he was certain that the association would be able to seek ways in which its members could volunteer their services to the community at large.

“Some of the club members are professionals and there are also many former senior civil servants.

“I have asked for a compilation of their names and bio-data,’’ said Khalid.

He also urged members of the club to make full use of the club’s facilities as well as to visit the place regularly to interact with their peers instead of merely attending events and meetings.