MAY 29 — Joseph Schwartz, 62, time-travelled to a distant-future Earth which killed those who turned 60 in the sci-fi book Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov which was published in 1950. Someone born that year would be 75 in 2025.
I was reminded of Schwartz following the announcement Malaysia reconsiders the retirement age.
In 2012 we moved it to 60, and now the minister wants 65 to be considered. Law Minister Azalina Othman Said a substantial number of older Malaysians are “young and active.” The minister turns 62 in December.
The prime minister said her idea deserved study. Cannot imagine him saying the idea was an attack on our values and has no merit. Anwar Ibrahim turns 78 in August. Like clockwork, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said that prized study was underway. Sim just turned 43, which is also the age the prime minister was when he first entered Parliament.
In an agrarian dominated world before the twentieth century, folks had children as and when biology permitted them. High child mortality was common, and infanticides unfortunately occurred.
The rapid development of the last 150 years brought us prosperity and fun things like smartphones. It also wreaked havoc on the traditional family and standard demography. Ageing societies are synonymous with developed economies. Modern medicine extends life expectancies which compounds the ageing society phenomenon.
The retirement age, whether the mandatory rule for civil servants and the upper limit for the private sector, has huge ramifications for the country.
More so in a country with substantive state support for citizens — state income handouts (sumbangan asas SARA), subsidised fuel, household gas cylinders and public housing, among others — at a time of shrinking oil revenues.
Those in employment for decades and those about to be in employment age, both have it hover over them.
There are a fair number of years likely between retirement and death, and with negligible EPF savings for the majority with uncertainties over full medical coverage, working on for more years is not optional for millions of Malaysians.
The drop in civil service recruitment, rise in graduates and cost of living, and uncertainties in a time of Internet, automation, AI and unaffordable housing, the continued presence of seniors beyond their normal exit points, discomforts younger Malaysians.
When people are likely to retire is a huge existential threat to most Malaysians.
To pass it over to a study and not a public discourse is quite damning. Even if most Malaysians care about it but are disengaged.
This is where political leadership is expected from those who posit themselves as leaders.
Malaysia has another factor which punches up the issue like steroids. It holds an expansive migrant population, from Rohingyas to Filipinos, Langkawi to Semporna. They inject themselves into the employment market.
The total number of people of working age (citizens and migrant workers) goes up or down with the retirement age.
Fountain of youthful objections
The Malaysian Youth Council opposes change.
Unsurprisingly.
The effect on fresh recruitment is highlighted, like by the Sabah teacher’s union.
The argument is valid. However, the absence of countervailing arguments jars.
Many countries of late have increased retirement ages, including Singapore, Thailand, Japan and China. Corrections to retirement ages for the reasons outlined in this column are rife all over the world.
And of course, younger people elsewhere are not pleased and the self-righteous spout condescension on how the aged should hug grandkids till they instinctively know the choker hold. Tap out, tap out.
There are no shockers delivered today but a sense of aghast that the government is incapable of organising broad consultation beyond asking the Malaysian Employers Federation and trade unions.
For example, if Malaysia charts a path to remove reliance on foreign labour, role-replacements are necessary.
Up automation and hire Malaysian supervisors with multiple roles, therefore justifying higher wages, is one of many paths to change, in order to accommodate more Malaysians in the employment market while systematically reducing foreign labour.
Malaysians have to be alerted that whether the needle is moved or not on retirement age, the burdens on those in the employment market only gets heavier. As the ratio of workers: retirees rises meaning there’d be fewer workers on average to pay for the benefits accrued by the retired — and those below working age — either taxes go up or national debt goes up.
Keeping more of the senior high earners — euphemism, taxed more — longer inside the job market also maintains a wider tax pool.
It is the new puzzle for societies in which all members of those societies pay the price of missteps.
The first generation of knowledge workers from the 1990s approach steadily the retirement zone. It’s inconclusive whether a liberal attitude toward retirement ages repays or not. Also, in play the increasing wealth disparity between the rich and poor.
Since all of us are affected then all of us should be involved. To leave these decisions to committees appears crude and arcane.
Isaac Asimov was 30 when Pebble in the Sky was published. The biochemistry doctoral student was on his way to becoming a professor after a non-combat stint in the US navy.
A young man considering the societal effects of artificially age-capped mortality. The protagonist Schwartz despite his age possessed mental abilities to save the galaxy from a virus.
The old guy saves hundreds of planets.
It’s fiction though. But young and old Malaysians need to discuss retirement age, which is not in the fictional realm.
It is real and directly affects Malaysians, and the government should facilitate a broader nationwide discussion about it. There’s the general election in around two years, and perhaps an excellent opportunity to referendum it. Ask the people directly. How old is old?
