Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society - MHAS

Happy new year 🌸🌱

A very happy Christmas to everyone celebrating ❤️

🌏 Learning Visit to Penang: A Truly Age-Friendly City in Action

Jomkhwan Eamrucksa, a Master of Public Health (MPH) student from Nagasaki University, Japan (originally from Thailand), recently had the opportunity to travel to Penang with Professor Dr Shahrul Bahyah and Dr. Sangeeta Singh to attend a key presentation on the Penang Age-Friendly City (AFC) Initiative to the Datuk Bandar of MBPP on 17 December 2025.

✨ First Impressions of Penang
Upon arrival, she immediately felt that Penang is a city where people of all ages can live comfortably. Beyond being a UNESCO World Heritage Site with rich culture and beautifully preserved architecture, Penang impressed her with its efficiency, safety, and thoughtful city design.
Accessible public transport, safe walkways, inclusive parks, and age-friendly public buildings all reflect Penang’s commitment to ensuring older adults and people with mobility limitations can thrive.

🤝 Engaging with Penang’s Community Partners
During the evening meeting, Jomkhwan met representatives from Penang-based NGOs, including:

Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC)

Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS)

Penang Healthy Ageing Society (PHAS)

These organisations have partnered closely with MHAS, PHAS and MBPP to advance the Age-Friendly City vision.

📊 Project Achievements Presented
Dr. Sangeeta shared key achievements across recent years, highlighting improvements in:
✔️ Age-friendly public spaces and accessible buildings
✔️ Transportation systems designed for older adults
✔️ Safe and suitable housing environments
✔️ Increased social participation through community activities
✔️ Better access to health information and age-inclusive healthcare services

⚠️ While challenges existed, the strong collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, healthcare professionals, and local communities has created meaningful progress, enabling Penang Island to achieve WHO recognition as an Age-Friendly City.

🌟 A Model for Malaysia’s Future
As Malaysia moves rapidly toward an ageing society, Penang Island’s experience offers an inspiring model for other cities aspiring to become age-friendly, inclusive, and prepared for demographic change.

MHAS recently delivered the final presentation of the Age-Friendly City (AFC) Penang Island Initiative, marking the completion of a three-year journey that successfully fulfilled the World Health Organization’s requirements for membership in the Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.

It has truly been a meaningful and rewarding journey. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and all relevant persons-in-charge (PICs) for their leadership, commitment, and collaboration, and we wish them continued success as the Age-Friendly agenda moves into its next phase.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18Bp6acyjV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Part 1: Doctor Wong (Dokt Pakar Jantung) bagi TIPS macam mana nak jaga Jantung untuk kekal sihat. 🔥 Jom guys join Chef Dave bersama Doctor Wong ialah Doktor Pakar Jantung bersama - sama di PODCAST kami!! Tips healthy luar dan dalam juga tau!Jangan lupa juga...

👉🏻 MARN NOVEMBER MEETING 2025
Hosted by the Gerontology Centre (GRACE), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA)

📅 Date: 27 November 2025
⏰ Time: 12.45 PM – 2.00 PM
💻 Platform: Microsoft Teams

Agenda
1️⃣ Introduction
2️⃣ Topic 1: Factors Associated with Depression Symptoms among Malay Community-dwelling Older People in Kuala Terengganu
👩🏻‍🏫 Speaker: Ms Siti Suhana Zakaria, Gerontology Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UniSZA
3️⃣ Topic 2: The Prevalence and Predictors of Healthy Ageing among Community-dwelling Older Adults in Terengganu
👩🏻‍🏫 Speaker: Ms Suriawati Ghazali, Gerontology Centre, UniSZA
4️⃣ Discussion
5️⃣ Announcements

✨ See you at the meeting!

Thank you.
🔗 Click to Join: https://murl.gg/8NSowL
📌 Meeting ID: 474 878 569 800
🔑 Passcode: zFXrJx

Thank you to all MHAS members who attended and voted at the AGM.

Heartiest congratulations to our newly elected Council Members!

📌 MHAS Council 2025
President: Prof. Nathan Vytialingam
Vice President: Dr. Wong Teck Wee
Secretary: Dr. Kantha Ruban
Treasurer: Dr. Devan

Councillors:
Lily Fu
Wisdom Sabrina
Datin Ranuga
Joyce Leong
Dr. Lim Poh Hin

Wishing the new Council a successful and impactful term ahead.

May we continue to grow, prosper, and advance healthy ageing together as a society.

Day 2 at SICA 2025: Age-Friendly City Forum 🌏
A proud moment as the City Council of Penang Island (MBPP) takes the international stage to share its inspiring journey towards becoming an Age-Friendly City. From inclusive urban planning to community engagement, Penang’s commitment to creating environments where older persons can thrive continues to gain global recognition. 💪🏼✨

Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang - MBPP

Day 1 Highlights | SICA Conference 2025 🌏👵🏼👴🏽
A powerful start to the SICA Conference 2025 in Kuching, Sarawak, themed “Empowering Healthy Ageing with Dignity.”

From Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe’s keynote on inclusive ageing policies to engaging forums on long-term care, ageing in place, and global best practices, the day underscored one message: ageing with dignity requires action across all sectors.

Grateful to witness inspiring leadership from Dato’ Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah and the many experts shaping Malaysia’s future of healthy ageing. 💪🏼💙

Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang - MBPP

Great initiatives, inclusive, empowering, and most importantly, upholding the dignity of our older persons.

It's great to see a Healthy Living initiative in East Malaysia, @ Sarawak International Conference on Ageing 2025 Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang - MBPP, where Penang Island is featured as a success story on AFC