Visiting around his constituency, Edward Chia noticed that elderly men in Singapore tend to isolate themselves more than elderly women. They rarely take part in community activities. To address this, the Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, came up with the idea of forming a senior hiking group in Zhenghua.
Working with community partners, the hiking group encourages elderly men to get out of their homes, expand their social networks, and maintain a healthy lifestyle through exercise.
In an interview with Petir, Mr Chia noted that most participants at active ageing centres, even in Zhenghua, tend to be women. Hence, there is a need to engage men in community activities and help them expand their social network.
“Many of our men work all their lives. Much of their social network is tied to their jobs. Once they retire, they tend to lose touch with this social network. As a result, they become more withdrawn and isolated. They require opportunities to meet new friends with similar interests. I feel that most men want to be engaged,” he said.
He has raised this issue multiple times in Parliament, asking if the Health Ministry has worked with operators to determine why elderly men are less likely to frequent active ageing centre and whether dedicated programmes targeting elderly men could increase their participation.
This issue will become more pressing as Singapore becomes a super-aged society by 2026, where one in five Singaporeans will be 65 years and above.
Mr Chia, an adviser to the National Instructors & Coaches Association (NICA), considered connecting the association with Fei Yue Community Services, which operates an active ageing centre at Zhenghua.
The instructors from NICA designed a programme to engage senior men there. This fit into their schedule well, as the instructors usually teach children in the afternoon after school and have free time in the morning.
In late 2023, a senior hiking group was formed that attracted over 20 elderly members. An outdoor adventure instructor from NICA organised a 10-week pilot programme for these members, during which they went on 10 short hikes around Zhenghua.
Mr Chia said Holland-Bukit Timah GRC has several nature reserves including Zhenghua Park, Chestnut, Cashew and the rail corridor, providing residents with abundant nature.
“Initially, some residents struggled to even cross traffic junctions. However, after the 10-week programme, participants improved their physical fitness. They walked four to five 10km hikes.”
Residents embraced the programme, taking ownership of the hiking group. Mr Chia fondly recalled how members volunteered to lead the group after the programme ended, enabling it to continue organising hikes. Previously, he encountered the group when he was engaging residents at bus stops in the morning.
He stressed: “How can we bring partners in our community to roll out programmes that meet the individual needs or specific archetypes?”
Authorities move forward plans for a new nursing home and an active ageing centre at Zhenghua thanks to Edward Chia
A 300-bed nursing home was originally planned for Jelapang Road by 2027. However, Edward Chia has requested that the Ministry of Health expedite construction. He also successfully appealed to authorities to build a new active ageing centre as part of the nursing home.
Mr Chia noted that many young families live in Zhenghua and will likely have to care for ageing parents within 5-10 years. Thus, the government must prepare infrastructure for senior care, so that young parents can be relieved of some of the difficulties of caregiving.
“How can we design infrastructure to directly help care for our seniors and indirectly alleviate a bit of the caregiver responsibility of our young parents?” he said, pointing out that a nursing home cares for frailer seniors while an active ageing centre enables seniors to stay active, fit and healthy through activities.
“There were initially no plans for an active ageing centre. I requested and appealed to MOH that we should also have an active ageing centre so that we can impact more seniors.”
Chia added that he asked authorities to expedite building both facilities, and they agreed. Authorities will also build an interim active ageing centre at a nearby void deck, set to open in the next few months.
Edward Chia: MPs can take action and make a difference in the community
Edward Chia said these examples show how MPs can take action and make a difference in the community.
“As a legislator, we raise the issue in in Parliament, but we must also take action on the ground because policy changes take time,” he said. “While we must continue to push policy boundaries and enact policy changes, we must translate what we discuss in Parliament into credible actions on the ground where residents can feel the impact.”
“These community initiatives can demonstrate to policymakers that some of these approaches work and how we can scale them up, enabling policy changes.”
