ELDERLY CARE FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS (B40) IN MALAYSIA: INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS IN REFERENCE TO
SUNNAH NABAWIYYAH
Norazmi Anas1, Anaztasia Natasha Muhamad Ramlan 2, Zakiah Samori3, Ishak Suliaman4, Amran Abdul Halim5
Abstract: The negligence cases of senior citizen are estimated at about 675,000 cases or equivalent to almost 30% of senior citizens in Malaysia. They seemed to be stemming from the attitudes of society who are too career-driven and focused on luxurious lives at the expense of their elderly, considering them to be burdens due to high cost of living and cost of medical care i.e. medicine. Hence, the writing of this paper aims to discuss the issues, challenges and realities of elderly care, primarily for the lower income group (B40) in Malaysia as well as intergenerational relationships from the perspective of sunnah nabawiyyah, since the mistreatment and negligence of senior citizens is contrary to the Islamic law that has bestowed responsibility for the care of elderly parents on their children.
Not only that efforts of all parties such as the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), the National Social Institute, the Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) and the Social Welfare Department (JKM) need to be enhanced for the senior citizens in Malaysia, but also the studies related to it need to be intensified so as to avoid this group from being neglected. This is in conformity with the main policy of the Malaysian government through the National Social Policy (DSN), the National Policy for the Elderly (DWEN) and the National Senior Citizens Action Plan (PTWEN), besides demonstrating commitment towards the elderly contained in the PH PRU-14 manifesto as the core of our new Malaysian government and parallel with the Industrial Revolution 5.0 targeting the
"Super Smart Society" as a result of increased value to society.
Keywords: Elderly Care; Low Income Households (B40); Intergenerational Relations;
Sunnah Nabawiyyah
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1. Introduction
The Prophet SAW stated: "A man came to see me and uttered: I pledge my obedience to you to migrate and jihad for Allah‟s reward.” The Prophet SAW then asked him: "Is one of your
1 1 Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak Branch, Tapah Campus, 35400 Tapah Road, Perak, MALAYSIA
2Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Melaka Branch, Alor Gajah Campus, 78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka, MALAYSIA
3Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40540 Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA
4Department of al-Quran and al-Hadith, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
parents still alive?” The man replied: "Yes, both of them." The Prophet SAW further asked him, “Do you want to seek the reward from Allah SWT?” The man replied, “Yes.” Then Prophet SAW said: “Go back to your parents and be grateful to serve both." (Narrated by Bukhari, Muslim & Abu Daud).
Following the increment in the number of senior citizens by year 2030 as a result of a demographic transition caused by the decline of fertility and mortality rate as well as increased of life expectancy (Fuzi & Bakar, 2018), the elderly ought to be offered careful and thorough care so as to not be neglected and should become the focal point of our Malaysian society. Consequently, affected research involving senior citizens in which the main challenge is the issue of improving the quality of life comprising health, well-being, and excitement (Ngah & Lian, 2017). However, the attitude of society that centers around worldly matters makes responsibility for the elderly to be overwhelming
(Ismail et al., 2017; Che' Sharif et al., 2015; Nayan, 2006) hence causes mistreatment and neglect to the 675,000 or nearly 30% of senior citizens in Malaysia (Radzi, 2015). The high cost of living and medical bills that come with care needs pose formidable challenges to the children with low income (B40) to address those needs for their elderly. On top of that, the number of women in the labor force that has increased substantially also caused long- standing informal networks of support for parental care to erode (Nichols, 2017; Nawi et al., 2016; Abdullah et. al, 2015). Thus, places pressure on families to provide an ongoing care for elderly parents be it formal or informally especially for those at risk of functional decline (Alavi et al., 2015). It is therefore critical for the elderly to be provided with optimal support
in terms of sufficient social and economic resources, health service delivery systems, along with a safe place of residence (Ali, 2017).
Figure 1: Aging Trends in Malaysia
Figure 2: Population Demographics of Malaysian 2. Elderly from Gerontology Perspectives & Issues
From Abdullah bin 'Amr RA, the Prophet SAW stated that: "Allah‟s pleasure lies in the pleasure of one‟s parents; while His Wrath too lies in the wrath of theirs.” (Narrate by Tirmidzi, Ibnu Hibban & Al-Hakim). Based on the above hadith, negligence of children toward their parents leads to the wrath of Allah SWT, thereby is considered sinful.
Accordingly, the efforts to take care of senior citizens are demanded in Islam besides being in-lined with Malaysia‟s main policy through the National Social Policy (DSN), the National Policy for the Elderly (DWEN) and the National Senior Citizens Action Plan (PTWEN), side by side with the manifestation of commitment towards the elderly contained in the Pakatan Harapan‟s Manifesto, representing our new Malaysian government today.
Gerontology is a discipline that deals with the aging processes in an attempt to solve aging issues in the community that consists of multidisciplinary field, encompasses of biology, physiology, sociology and so on (Alkema & Alley, 2006). It is in conformity with Holstein and Minkler (2003) who state that the field of biology and social sciences are the main filter used by researchers in the study of aging and aging with respect to the aging process, contribution to policy and development, thus affecting successful aging. There are three successful aging principles namely: (i) low probability of disease and disease-related disabilities, (ii) maintaining high levels of physical and mental functioning and (iii) active involvement in life activities (Rowe & Kahn, 2015; Cosco et al., 2014). Ergo, senior citizens who managed to have quality of life are those who achieve successful aging and able to contribute to national development.
Figure 3: Integrative Gerontology Model (Alkema & Alley, 2006)
The Modern Tanggang symptom refers to the life of contemporary society who mistreated the elderly estimated at 675,000 people or nearly 30% of the elderly in Malaysia through 6 types of mistreatment: (i) Physical, (ii) Finance, (iii) Psychology, (iv) Social, (v) Sexual and (vi) Abandonment (Radzi, 2015). This symptom reflects the loss of humanity and values for them to be able to act beyond the limits to their own parents. It is in conformity with the study by Che'Sharif et al. (2015) who state that abandonment of the elderly is caused by 6 main factors: (i) Children who are career-driven and geographically distant from their parents, (ii) Communication gap between senior citizens and children, (iii) The elderly who do not have confidence that their children can be their guardians, (iv) Children who can no longer withstand the tantrums of their elderly, (v) Children who suffer from financial problems and (vi) Health status of the elderly.
Nevertheless, mistreatment and abandonment of the elderly is contrary to Islamic law that makes it mandatory for children to be responsible for their maintenance. The obligation of Muslims to care for elderly is clearly stated in surah al-Isra‟ verse 23 which emphasizes the duty of children to do good to their parents as well as to care and protect them up to the moment of their death. It is supported by the hadith of the Prophet SAW, asked by the Companions for the most important practice, which He answered the prayer in its proper time, followed by the devotion to parents in Allah‟s cause. Hence, children need to obey, serve, love, bless, give gifts and provide nafkah if necessary as long as they do not conflict with the will of Islam (Al-Bakri, 2018) thereby making a positive intergeneration relationship for the foundation of a happy family.
3. Intergenerational Relations in Reference To Sunnah Nabawiyyah
The sunnah nabawiyyah‟s approach taught by the Messenger of Allah SWT to Muslims regarding the care of elderly should be made an exemplary throughout the ages. Although the prophet was born orphaned and his mother died when he was still small, his character and akhlaq towards the elderly were praiseworthy, as a result of the revelation Allah SWT has bestowed on him. The most important aspect of intergenerational support obligated on adult children is the support and assistance of one or more elderly as consequence of the reciprocal relationship between two parties (Nawi et al., 2016; Abdullah & Mohamad, 2015) to create the family well-being. According to the National Population and Family Development Board (2017), family well-being is defined as a family condition in a country that is at a safe, healthy, comfortable, harmonious and peaceful level. This is supported by Chik et al. (2017) who stated that the ultimate objective of building a family in Islam is to achieve the pleasure of Allah SWT and to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW to obtain success together with prosperity in this world and the hereafter. Furthermore, Zulkiply et al. (2018) stressed that the preparation of senior citizens should begin at a young age, especially religious knowledge to ensure the completion of their act of worship at the later stage of life. Some of the manners taught by the Prophet SAW towards the elderly are to look at them with kindness as well as not to raise one‟s voice (Bukhari, hadith no. 2731; Bukhari, hadith no. 82 & Muslim, hadith no. 2811), to not sit in front of the elderly when they stand (Muslim, hadith no. 413) and to prioritize them than oneself (Bukhari, hadith no. 5974 & Muslim, hadith no. 2743).
The findings by Baharuddin and Ismail (2013) show that elderly need to be empowered from the spiritual, physical and mental aspects, consequently becoming advisors to the younger generation in attempt to create positive and successful intergenerational relationships (Mohamad et al., 2017). It is in line with the study conducted by Ismail et al. (2017) and Siren (2015) that revealed five components required by the elderly: (i) Motivation, (ii) Residence, (iii) Spiritual (iv) Love Impulse and (v) Security. Hence, the needs of these elderly should be taken seriously to improve the quality of community life (Alavi et al., 2017) besides not becoming as a burden to the guardian, as a result of the cooperation between our government and community (Ali & Aziz, 2018). This is called value-based education disclosed by Y. B. Dr. Maszlee Malik, Malaysia‟s Minister of Education during the Mandate Ceremony 2019 on January 14th following the Islamic teaching approaches applied in everyday life.
4. The Life of B40 Group in Malaysia
The Malaysian government has categorized the people according to their income into three main groups (Ministry of Finance Malaysia, 2015): the 40% lowest households income is known as the B40 (RM3860 and below), followed by the moderate 40% (M40: RM3861- RM8300) and the highest 20% (T20: RM8301 and above). Such categorization is essential in realizing the initiatives and incentives provided by the government towards target groups to mitigate the impact of rising cost of living. This issue on the rising cost of living has become a global issue faced by all countries in the world regardless of the developed, developing or poor countries that have indicated a rise in the price of goods far greater than the local
expenditure. It indicates that the B40s have almost no savings and spend 74% of their income on food, housing and transport (Wahab et al., 2018) and 30% of their income on burdensome housing (Yusof & Jamaluddin, 2018).
It is parallel to Mayan et al. (2017) who claimed that the B40s are exposed to internal and external challenges involving attitudes, education, skills, inability to possess assets, economic and market conditions, poor management inefficiencies in implementation and monitoring.
The findings by Ngadiman et al. (2018) further strengthened this when they discovered that the low-income group has the potential to increase debt on a loan basis to secure non- essential needs to meet their specific requirements. In addition, the B40 is also more at risk for illness due to failure in getting treatment due to costs, rarely utilizing appropriate health services and lack of self-care management (Berenson et al., 2012). Thus, the realities of the B40's life are viewed as narrow and in need of assistance so they can continue to live with the M40 and T20 with stability and move forward as the country progresses.
Figure 4: Category of People by Income (B40, M40 & T20) 5. Conclusion
Although the elderly are those who need to be taken seriously in the local community to enhance the sustainability and balance in today's global community, the cases of elder abuse and neglect have been increasing every year due to the failure of children to fulfill their caretaking obligation. Thereby, progressive measures, holistic interventions as well as the cooperation of all parties should be emphasized to address these issues before they spread like cancer. As such, intergenerational relationships based on sunnah nabawiyyah are the main solution of this problem, especially the lower income group (B40) in Malaysia through major Malaysian government policies such as the National Social Policy (DSN), the National Policy for the Elderly (DWEN), the National Senior Citizens Action Plan (PTWEN) and manifestation of commitment towards the elderly contained in the Pakatan Harapan‟s PRU- 14 manifesto as one of the new Malaysian government‟s core.
Acknowledgement
The study was funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) under FRGS grant research funds with reference code FRGS/1/2019/SSI03/UITM/03/2entitled „Model Gerontologi Berdasarkan Sunnah Nabawiyyah Penjagaan Warga Emas Golongan B40‟
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