SHAH ALAM, 30 Dec: Senior citizens, especially in Selangor, have been urged to seize the opportunity to gain knowledge and enhance their potential in line with the theme for this year’s Senior Citizen’s Day, ‘Upholding Knowledge, Upholding Senior Citizens’.

The Director for Social Welfare in Selangor, Nik Imar Nik Ab Rahman, said that knowledge, experience and expertise possessed by each senior citizen are important assets for the country.

“Old age is not a stop point for senior citizens to contribute. It is also not a stop point for us to take advantage of the elderly,” he said when speaking at the Selangor State Senior Citizen’s Day Celebration recently.

He also commended and appreciated the kindness of various parties that are vigorously exploring and providing opportunities to senior citizens to further their education.

“The Open University of Malaysia (OUM) has opened up a space for senior citizens to further their education through a discount incentive (75%) on tuition fees.

“The same goes for the Gerontology Institute at the University Putra Malaysia (UPM). They have taken the initiative to spearhead the University of the Third Age Programme (U3A) since 2007,” he said.

Selangor Kini understands that since the U3A programme started, participants have increased from 84 people in 2007 to 548 participants at the end of 2012.