The early 1960s were my coming of age years. I was in high school then till 1964 when I completed my Form 5. I was a typical teenager, enamoured of all things British or American, especially the pop music scene of those days. I learned to dance the twist, the locomotion and the limbo. My […]
POP MUSIC RULED MY GROWING UP YEARS Read More »
It’s been 16+ long months since the MCO lockdown on 18 March 2020. The ‘New Normal’ is no longer the buzz word. It’s the ‘New Poor’ these days. More folks from the M40 (middle income group) are joining the ranks of the B40 (lower income group). With massive lay-offs, retrenchments and businesses shutting down, many
HOW TO STRETCH OUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS Read More »
Chan (left) with her brush painting. Next to her is U3A vice-president Lily Fu. (Photo: Julia Chan) Retiree Rahmah Abdul Aziz, 79, says that joining the University of the Third Age (U3A) – a programme under the Lifelong Learning for Older Malaysians project by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute of Gerontology – has given her a
SENIORS DISCOVER HIDDEN TALENTS THROUGH ONLINE CLASSES Read More »
My mother first showed signs of Alzheimer’s Disease probably as early as 2008. She was 82 then. She couldn’t remember dates, places and names of family members. She couldn’t tell one day from another, and forgot what she just had for dinner or where she had left her purse. That was 11 years ago. I
MY MOM HAS ALZHEIMER’S – WILL I GET IT TOO? Read More »
Baby boomers are looking much younger than their age these days. 60 is the new 40, they say, thanks in part to cosmetic aids and medical advances. However, there are certain parts of the body that reveal our real age, that no amount of clever cosmetic tricks will cover up for long. Let’s leave aside
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, TIME HAS NOT BEEN KIND TO ME AT ALL Read More »
Ageism is closing the doors of opportunity to our senior citizens. Whether it is looking for employment, getting a place in an HRDF upskilling course or applying for a bank loan to start a business, our age puts us at a disadvantage. It shouldn’t. The recent announcement in the media of the government speeding
EMPOWERING OLDER PEOPLE WITH DIGITAL LITERACY Read More »
It’s Valentine’s Day – again. While couples young and old celebrate the day exchanging gifts and Valentine cards, my thoughts, as always, are with those who will not be sitting down to a romantic candlelight dinner. Reason: they are single. To them, I say, “Happy Single Awareness Day!” I am one of you too. No
FOR THE SINGLES ON VALENTINE’S DAY Read More »
During the long months of stay-home, my daily dose of feel-good endorphins came not only from exercising but also from music. I have always enjoyed listening to music across many genres, graduating from jukebox top hit singles during my teenage years, to rock, blues, R&B, country and folk. I remember meticulously copying by hand hundreds
RELIVING THE POP MUSIC OF THE 1960s Read More »
If there is one thing that gerontologist Lily Fu wants to achieve in her life at the moment, it is to debunk ageist stereotypes and create an awareness of the immense potential and possibilities of older persons. Yes, she’s also not too keen on terms like “the elderly” and instead replaces it with “older
At 72, she made her first documentary to advocate against ageism Read More »
The interview was conducted over Zoom on 7 Dec. The podcast was up on BFM website the next day at 2pm. It gave me an opportunity to talk about my film ‘Meniti Senja’ which would premiere on 10 Dec as the opener of the 18th Freedom Film Festival 2020. The text below is taken
WHY I MADE ‘MENITI SENJA’ – BFM PODCAST Read More »
