Our employment policies (especially the retirement age) should be quickly reviewed, says JD Lovrenciear.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, known the world over as the oldest politician actively in service, must be an inspiration to local workers in Malaysia.
I wonder why our employers in the private and public sectors are still in the woods, unable to learn anything from the new benchmark being set by our own prime minister.
If Mahathir at 93, fit, driven with faculties intact, can be ’employed’, why are we writing off citizens and forcing those still healthy and able to retire at 60 or 65? And so, many organisations seek those well below 50 to fill senior positions.
At present, public servants who are still hale and healthy and ale cannot hope to continue being in employment in their sixties. Many senior citizens who have wisdom and experience and still enjoy good health will be dumped from the job market in the years ahead.
This loss will rob our nation of much-needed capability, expertise and attitudes honed by individuals over three or four decades which could otherwise have contributed to the nation’s quest to become a developed nation.
It is time that policymakers learn to be progressive and be trend-setters instead of remaining buried in their archaic rules.
Our employment policies (especially the retirement age) should be quickly reviewed. The private sector should take the lead to press for appropriate changes in the employment laws.
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