SIBU: The Senior Citizen Health Benefit (SCHB) programme aims to increase the understanding of senior citizens of the benefits provided by the government.

The programme, an initiative of the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) and elected representatives' service centre officers, marks a proactive step in providing information and registration for the programme to the community.

Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department (Corporate Affairs, Information and UKAS), Datuk Abdullah Saidol said that service centre officers act as liaisons between elected representatives and the local community.

“People’s representatives cannot be in their areas all the time because they are involved in meetings and other official matters.

“So, service centre officers need to understand government policies and initiatives so that they can explain them to the people,” he said during the SCHB Joint Service Centre and Parliament Service Centre Launching Ceremony here, on Wednesday.

He added that a study UKAS carried out found there were still service centre officers who didn’t understand Sarawak Government policies and the benefits of existing programmes such as the Kenyalang Gold Card, which affected services to the people.

“At least if they understand the programmes, officers can help the people understand government initiatives,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, based on records from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Lubok Antu recorded the highest number of elderly people in Malaysia with 15.7 per cent aged 60 and above, while Subis is currently the new ageing district with seven per cent of the population aged 65 and above.

Malaysia is expected to become an ageing country by 2030 with 15.3 per cent of the population aged 60 and above, while Sarawak is expected to become an ageing society earlier in 2028.

The SCHB programme is administered by the Sarawak Social Welfare Department (JKM) to register senior citizens in order for them to benefit from various initiatives provided by the government.

UKAS collaborated with JKM to organise a SCHB registration briefing to improve the understanding of service center officers and disseminate information to the community.

The ceremony was also attended by Balingian Assemblyman, Abdul Yakub Arbi, Ngemah Assemblyman, Anyi Jana, UKAS Deputy Director, Mohamed Faizal Shah Ali and speaker from JKM Sibu, Uwieng Gimos. -UKASnews