By, Moehammad Amar Ma’ruf/Author of Book Katulistiwa and Career Diplomat
Have you ever reminded yourself about from who you are born, by who you are care taken, by who you are protected from any threathen and to who your life be shared. These questions are deserved to be inherited in our soul and mind.
Why we should keep it in our soul and mind?
These are God’s gift to us for maintaining our sense humanity alive during our life for the ones who haveg iven priceless care and attention. This feeling seems to revive our consciousness toward the existence of some unfortunate element of society around us who have been very sensitive and vulnerable.
Also Read: Open Letter to President Prabowo Subianto: Never Recognize the Sovereignty of Zionist Israel
One of those elements is senior citizen. It is very happy to witness the encouraging moment in the midst of rapid development of city. This development should open many opportunities for its citizen and/or surrounding while the city’ administrative has declared a city become an open city. In tandem of that, citizen of the cities also faces many challenges in managing their life in the city due to many aspects.
Some of them are growth of population faster and technical infrastructure are still limited for accommodating or even facilitating some vulnerable citizen as mentioned above. The situation may be imbalance in serving ideally for its city. For that there is a need for making breakthrough to give proper opportunity to all elements of the society to become more engage in the development agenda of the city that may trigger capability of its citizen.
To reduce the gap between infrastructure of the city and its existing population, the city needs a very responsive teams in managing the cities problems. In Jakarta case and even in other cities in the world, senior citizen is one of the elements to be addressed. For that, I am very impressed with the responsive act of the administrative city that has made collaboratively program in order to position senior citizen be in their radar of integrated development agenda.
It is affected to hear the statement of Governor of Jakarta province during my presence at the grand inauguration of senior citizen empowering program held on 18/9/25 at Sasono Utomo Maginificent Indonesia Miniature Park/TMII. For me, this is very noble and shymphatetic measures shown by the regional government of Jakarta in honoring its senior citizen who had dedicated their life in caring the children of the world as productive generations
Also Read: Measuring the Reality of the Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution
It is believed that the first grand inauguration of 1.618 senior citizen living in Jakarta and beyond directed to show serious commitment of regional administrative government by doing pentahelix approaches which mainly involve government, academician, business communities, societies and media in protecting and empowering Jakarta Senior Citizen whose number achieved at least 10,6 % or at least 1.1 million from the 17 million population in Jakarta in 2025.
The issue of handling number of senior citizen (ageing peoples) has arisen since the life expectancy rate in Indonesia increased year by year. In 2024, namely 72,39 year old comparing 71,58 year old in 2023. In 2025, number of ageing or senior citizen in Indonesia is projected to 33 million peoples or at least 11 % from the Indonesian population.
In tandem with that situation, the issue of providing proper social and health facilities for this ageing become very crucial, especially when this age classified are becoming old age dependency ratio where the productive ages must cope it.
Ageing or Senior citizen in the world is also natural phenomenal. According to the World Population Prospects 2024 (UN Journal) there will be 265 million individual age 80 and older. For that reason the World Health Organization has promulgated 1 October each year as the International Day of Older Persons to raise public awareness about opportunities and challenges with ageing population and to mobilize the families, communities and the groups and stakeholders to address the difficulties faced by older peoples.
Also Read: Tunisian Man Donates Boat to Global Sumud Flotilla, Citing “Gaza Is Worth More Than Anything”
In line with the above national efforts in reducing the risks of old age dependency ratio for the productive ages, Indonesia (BKKBN, URINDO CEFAS, MOFA) in collaboration with the Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC-OIC) on July 22, 2025, within the framework of its Social Development Capacity Building Program (SD-CaB) has organized international webinar under the theme of Promoting Sustainable Growth in the Dynamic World for Ageing Population; Strategies for Older Person’s Empowerment in Emerging
Economies.
The International Webinar has presented best practices of Indonesia in the presence of at least 213 world experts, policymakers, scholars and practitioners from 27 countries to engage in insightful discussion on effective strategies for social development and capacity building toward empowering the aging population.
This International webinar has also given an opportunity to the participants to have lesson learned from Indonesia experiences as well as widening networking, and to establish or open virtual or direct visit to the centre of excellent in Indonesia where the world society should find Indonesia peoples as dignified nation who respect the ageing citizen in many aspect of life.
The above efforts are mutually integrated (regional government and central government) and projected to make Indonesia ageing population empowered and prosperous citizen. For that reason, the effort will be continued and supported by all elements and directed Indonesia and the world to be friendly to senior citizen which committed to managing the ageing population or senior citizen wisely and humanly. In line with SDG goals that. Indonesia is committed to making its development process and result be benefited for all element of the society.
Also Read: The Sunnah of Eclipse Prayer: A Step-by-Step Guide
Furthermore, Indonesia encourages also all ages to give positive contribution not only for national development agenda but also for international development agenda in their respective capacity. Indonesia is hand in hand nationally or internationally in doing collaborative work to give respect and dignity for their ageing citizen. May God Almighty give right path and easiness. Aaameen Ya Robbal Aaalameen. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Also Read: Reflecting on Road Engineering: An Effort Toward Driving Safety
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport