PENANG STATE FAMILY DAY OPENING 2022
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG,
YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
AT PENANG STATE FAMILY DAY OPENING 2022
6 AUGUST 2022
GURNEY PLAZA
YB Chong Eng
Penang State Executive Council for Social Development & Non-Islamic Religious Affair
YB Phee Boon Poh
Penang State Executive Council for Environment & Welfare
State Legislative Assemblymen
Members of the Parliament
Yang Berbahagia Dato' Ar. Yew Tung Seang
Mayor of City Council of Penang Island (MBPP)
Yang Berbahagia Dato Azhar bin Arshad
Mayor of Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP)
Members of PWDC Board Directors
Madam Ong Bee Leng
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC)
Sponsors and Partners
Members of Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good afternoon.
It is my pleasure to be here today to launch the Penang State Family Day 2022 opening ceremony, and I am grateful that, finally, we are able to celebrate this campaign physically again after two years.
This is the fourth year of our Penang State Family Day celebration since 2019, and we are delighted that our celebration scale is expanding each year, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is an important day to remind everyone about family and their significance in society.
As stated in the Penang2030 vision, the family is the basic unit of society. Family fulfils our basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, and more. It ensures love and security for all family members, and it is through the family that we begin, develop, and sustain social relationships. Hence, each member, including youth and the elderly, plays an important part in the development of our society, state, and nation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The theme of the Penang State Family Day 2022 is ‘Active Aging’ and the campaign will focus on intergenerational bonds within the family. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia in 2021, Penang is the second ageing state in Malaysia, with 14.9 percent of our population aged 60 or older.
It is becoming increasingly important for the State Government to address this issue and ensure that our senior citizens are not left behind. Hence, we would like to take this opportunity to advocate "Active Aging" and recognize the contribution of senior citizens towards the society, thus encouraging them to stay active and healthy.
Society often assumes that being old means being passive and reliant on others in many, if not all, aspects of life. However, Europe and other nations have already proven that allowing the aged group to remain active is the solution to an ageing society. According to United Nations research published last year, when an older person is allowed and able to live independently, stay healthy and positive, a country's social and economic development also improves significantly.
Hence, in Penang, we must shift from a ‘need-based’ to a ‘rights-based’ approach with our upcoming active ageing policy, whereby we empower and enable senior citizens to be more involved in civic and economic participation. In line with the Penang2030 strategic initiative to ‘Empower people to strengthen civic participation’, we hope to see the society recognize and empower senior citizens as assets of the state’s development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Aging is a blessing. We are always never too old or too late to start a new goal, dream a new dream or pursue a new hobby. Through this year's Family Day Campaign, the State Government hopes to showcase to Penangites that we can age gracefully, positively, and wisely.
I am pleased that our campaign partners, Silver Academy, Hospital Lam Wah Ee, Rainb Ragazzo, Magnificent, D'Kingdom Learning Group, Natural Med Therapy, Neuro Art, Penang Art District, and Digital Penang, share the same vision and are participating in Penang State Family Day 2022 today.
Not to mention our campaign sponsors, Safetyware Group Berhad, Hompton by the Beach, Gurney Plaza, Sunway Theme Park, WM Balloon, The Haven All Suite,
Sky Resources Group, Kimberly-Clark Malaysia, G Hotel Kelawai, The Foresta, Maestro Swiss Trading Sdn Bhd, and many more. Thanks for being part of this campaign and making this campaign meaningful.
Finally, thank you all for your participation today, and I take this opportunity to urge all Penangites to join our effort in making Penang an age-friendly community that embraces ageing and promotes active living!
With that, I hereby officially launch the Penang State Family Day 2022.
Thank you.