1 APRIL Serdang, Selangor – Malaysia is currently facing the prospect of an aging population, and the latest statistical data predicted this to be happening as soon as 2030. The main issue among the elderly is the comfort as well as safety in mobility and transportation. An ageing population has an impact on travel needs and changes are required to the transport policy. Mobility among the elderly is essential for independence and ensuring good health, quality of life, and as a prerequisite for active and productive aging. The Consortium on Mobility and Transportation in an Ageing Society (CoMTAS) was developed under the grant of Konsortium Kecemerlangan Penyelidikan (KKP) by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. The consortium is made up of three (3) research entities from different public universities in Malaysia, namely – Malaysian Research Institute On Ageing, MyAgeing™ (UPM), Centre for Healthy Ageing & Wellness, HCare (UKM), and USM-RIKEN Centre for Aging Science, URICAS (USM). Members of CoMTAS were identified through the Malaysian Ageing Research Network (MARN) with a specialization in mobility, health and economic studies. Other members from relevant ministries and government agencies as well as key NGOs, will collaborate in the research.

The CoMTAS project will be launched with the webinar entitled "Mobility and Transportation in an Ageing Society" on April 1st, 2021, by Prof. Dato’ Dr. Zulkifli Idrus, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Universiti Putra Malaysia. A webinar will take place of two different sessions – national session and international session. Researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), and representatives from the Ministry of Transport Malaysia will take part in the national webinar session. While for the international webinar will be delivered by researchers from international universities and agency. The objective of this webinar is to provide knowledge and content related to mobility and transportation in an aging society, as the first step for CoMTAS research. During this event, an introduction to the Consortium on Mobility and Transportation in an Ageing Society (CoMTAS) will be delivered by YM Dato’ Dr. Tengku Aizan Hamid, Head of Consortium, MyAgeing™, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The vision of CoMTAS is to become the referral point for age-friendly mobility and transportation in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region. To this end, concerted efforts in multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary R&D are required towards the age friendly city or city for all ages. For the initial years, the consortium will focus on exploratory research to assess the situation and preparedness of the transportation system in meeting the needs of older Malaysians as well as profiling the patterns of mobility among the elderly living in the community.

Malaysian Aging Research Network (MARN) will also launch their website in this program. This website launch will introduce MARN among researchers and at the same time inviting researchers to join this research network. MARN aims to provide a platform for local expertise and scientific development in the field of ageing and multidisciplinary gerontological studies in Malaysia, to develop the capacity and role of local researchers to spur multi-disciplinary collaborative and increase the impact and results of research on ageing in terms of policy inputs and programs at national, state. Thank you.

For more information, please contact

Institut Penyelidikan Penuaan Malaysia (MyAgeingTM),

 Universiti Putra Malaysia,

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor.

 e-mail: myageing@upm.edu.my

Date of Input: 21/04/2021 | Updated: 23/04/2021 | lizamdnor