This writer is at a neighbourhood hypermarket. He is wearing bright green bermuda shorts and close-cropped hair. A mask conceals much of his fair face.
In his reverie amid the shelves, he thinks he is svelte and suave. To the counter he goes with a loaded basket firmly in hand.
But the dream shatters into a thousand shards of dismay when the petite, young woman says gaily: "Uncle, today senior citizens get a discount. You can get ah."
"Omigosh. Do I look that old?" the writer, hanging his head and almost swooning, asks his grinning companion.
He is not near the mandatory retirement age. Neither is he close to empty on his physical gauge.
But his hair is greying and his eyes are dimming. Perhaps the polite and petite young woman sees this and not the rest.
As did the elderly folks at a shelter that the writer visited: "You are 60, are you not?"
Back to his companion: "Why is it that some people fear growing old?" she asks.
Indeed, why do some people grow old wistfully and woefully?
Of the latter, it is about "not having enough money lah", says a gangly 68-year-old friend who guards a shop and the welfare of his wife and sister.
"When I left full-time employment in 2009, I didn't really have much in EPF. So I needed to keep working.
"But my health is not that good. I worry that I will not be able to work at some point. Who's going to support us then," asks Raja.
He is one of many Malaysians who have way too little in savings. The Employees Provident Fund reminds us of this all the time. Last month, it said 50 per cent
of members had less than RM10,000 in their accounts. They have to work until they die.
And then, there are those who have more than they need. Why do they keep on working in demanding jobs? Why wait until 60 or 70 before calling it a day? Are they going to live forever?
Yeah, folks are advised to keep busy (but certainly not as a bee) so that physical and mental selves don't become dizzy. But that does not mean they should stay in life-sapping work.
Groaning teachers, for instance, need not wait until 60 to be free, because by then the lifeblood may flee. The fact is, I have many teacher friends over 50. Most are as worn out as the tyres on my 25-year-old Shimano.
They are grinding their way to the finish line, hoping to survive the last stretch with an intact mind.
Older folks should not be forced to work like a dog until they die. Carry a pound they may, but not a tonne.
But the World Bank Group says that by 2044, 14 per cent of the population are expected to be above 65 years old. A good number of them must surely be among those who have less than RM50,000 in the EPF at 55.
What will they do? Cannot there be a JobStreet of sorts for older folk? Something that offers part-time work or flexible working hours?
The fact is, the World Bank Group did suggest that the government devise "regulatory frameworks to facilitate part-time and flexible employment for older workers".
It said, "targeted, conditional and time-bound wage subsidies could also be piloted" to achieve this purpose.
So some money could stream into the old woman's and man's pockets, and strain could leave their hearts.
Do we have this in place for them now? No? The writer hopes that it will come to pass soon.
For he does not mind sitting behind a counter at the hypermarket on some days, he says. "Not as pretty as the young ones, but cheerful enough," he grins.
But will there be even this work for old souls like him when ChatGPT, automation and the rest take over everything?
* The writer is NST Production Editor
