A NEW IMAGE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS CLUBS

Putting their best foot forward in line-dancing.

Don't be put off by the word "seniors". Some of them can put many juniors to shame with their energy and sense of fun and adventure. I have found this to be the case time and time again over the past year and a half since starting this blog.

A case in point is the dinner and dance I attended last night (Friday 14 August) at the Royal Lake Club. Organized by the Happy Senior Citizens Club, it was a semi-annual get-together for the members and also to celebrate the club president Dr Cheong Weng Hoon's 78th birthday.

The food, the music and the company made for an enjoyable night out for all who turned up. I met Katrina, my former neighbour and UM coursemate at the event. What a lovely surprise! The only downside was the glaring gender imbalance. The crowd was overwhelmingly female. The few guys who were there really knew how to work the dance floor with their slick moves.

Hey, guys, fun aside, did you know that dancing keeps you youthful and fit? Know why women live longer than men, and why they can handle stress better? You might want to change your mind and put on those dancing shoes. Your wives are in need of partners.

The lovely ladies from the Sentral Senior Citizens Association all ready to perform the traditional fan dance.

Senior citizens clubs are shedding off their image as clubs for foggies. Besides regular karaoke and dance sessions, members can sign up for tai-chi classes and computer classes. These clubs also organize overseas trips and outings to local resorts, participate in charity events and help raise funds for the needy.

Members of the Damansara Jaya Merrymakers at their weekly singalong session.

Providing music to sing along with.

If you enjoy networking socially with other like-minded seniors, and at the same time want to give back to the community, consider joining a senior citizens club or any club for that matter like the Kiwanis Club, the Lions Club or the Rotary Club.

This is what living life to the full is all about.

PRODUCTS TO HELP SENIORS LIVE INDEPENDENTLY

(Click on the image for an enlargement.)

According to estimates released by the US Census Bureau, by 2050, one in six people in the world will be 65 and above. This is in large due to declining birth rates and medical advances that have extended lifespans.

Already websites offering products and services for seniors have mushroomed over the last decade to cater to the needs of ageing baby boomers. Click on the links below to view some of the elderly-friendly products already in the market.

Elder Gadgets

Senior Friendly Products

Mobility Products and Aids

Independent Care Products

Independent Living Aids

Avalon’s EZC Low Vision One Button Talking Watch.

This beautifully crafted timepiece features a loud female voice that tells time with the push of a button. The watch also features large, contrasting black numbers with bold hands, making it easier to tell time. Just the right gift for grandpa's birthday!

The Tek Pal™ from Hy-Tek

I would love to get this remote control for my mom. I can't think of a simpler design than this for older folks who are confused by too many buttons. The Tek Pal was designed specifically for people with vision problems who need a simple remote that's easy to see and even easier to program.

Here is a look at some of the products that are coming onstream.

GPS shoes for the elderly with AD

Shoe-maker Aetrex Worldwide and a technology company GTX Corp. are teaming up to develop footwear with a built-in GPS device that could help track down "wandering" seniors suffering from Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Sure beats wearing a cow bell!

The Smart Personal Advisor

To give older consumers more real-time, personalized information on such everyday matters as the nutritional content of groceries, MIT's AgeLab has teamed with Procter & Gamble to develop the Smart Personal Advisor. This portable device can be attached to a shopping cart or incorporated into a cell phone or personal digital assistant. It then reads information contained in barcodes and analyzes how the item fits with a senior's personalized dietary needs. Similar technology is already in use in Germany and other countries, and could be adopted in the U.S. in the next five years. This is definitely one gadget I want on my wish list!

The Aware Car

The prototype Aware Car is equipped with warning systems to help control speed and monitor oncoming traffic. It boasts night-vision capabilities, assists with difficult activities like left-hand turns, and tailors airbag deployment and steering wheel placement for smaller-sized drivers and those with osteoporosis. If I had a car like this, I would seriously consider dusting off my driving license and getting behind the wheel again.

Opportunity Knocks

Another product that uses GPS technology is this cell phone or PDA. Developed by Henry Kautz, University of Rochester Computer Science Dept.Kautz, with former colleague Don Patterson, the device helps keep the user from wandering off course during, say, a daily walk through the park. The user's typical commuting patterns is programmed into the system. An alert would be given if the user wanders off into the park in the evening.

The Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) is among the leading players in the race to develop and deploy technologies that can improve the aging experience in America. Established in 2003, CAST has become a national coalition of more than 400 technology companies, aging services organizations, research universities, and government representatives.

In Asia, similar initiatives are underway. One such example is Singapore's Silver Community Test-Bed Programme. The Singapore government offers generous grants to companies that develop products which cater to the elderly.

With all these products and many more coming into the market, seniors can certainly look forward to an active and independent lifestyle in their golden years.

STOP MUTILATING OUR READING MATERIALS!

Photo: The Star 8 Aug 2009

It is a relief to know that the government will not impose any censorship of the Internet. This is the assurance given by the PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Let's pray that he keeps his word. He said this after Information, Communications and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim announced plans to introduce a filtering system for the Internet, albeit only for pornography.

Honestly, what's there to censor in this picture?? (IHT)

It is pointless to censor anything in this day and age where information is easily available at your fingertips and from the home. Yet, censorship continues in Malaysia. And it's not just for internet pornography. As far as I'm concerned, the officers at the Home Ministry are marker-pen happy. The pictures on my subscriber copy of the International Herald Tribune are covered with the ubiquitous black boxes. It's absolutely annoying. Don't they know that this makes me even more curious to see what's behind those black boxes? And I can easily find out by looking up the IHT online. That defeats the purpose of censoring the pictures, don't you think?

Obviously, these black blotters are not art connoisseurs.

Since when were male chests and female breasts considered obscene? (Inset) Even the devil's chest is not spared!

It's not only the IHT that has suffered this mutilation. One irate subscriber of the National Geographic has also vented his anger in the local press over the same issue. "These overzealous censors need to get their priorities right," he says.

(Right) 11 black blots on one picture alone!

Grandma and the children are victims too. And they are wearing their swim-suits!

And while we are on the topic, did you know that there are only three panel members on the National Film Censorship Board? My Google search for the names of the panel members drew a blank. So much for transparency!

Malaysian film director, Amir Muhammad, had three of his movies banned, including his latest "Malaysian Gods". He deserves credit for never giving up. His movies have received even more publicity and critical acclaim thanks in part to the ban!


Malaysia has some of the strictest censorship laws in the world. Books, films, TV programmes, video games are routinely banned if the content is deemed objectionable or detrimental to the moral and spiritual values of the people. The same laws are also applied to local and foreign concerts.


I can understand the need for censorship, but censors should not go overboard in doing their job. At least, for education, arts and culture, censorship should be relaxed. Are Malaysians so weak in character and faith that the government has to protect and mollycoddle them from what it subjectively deems as 'bad' influence?

CAN WE TRUST MEDICAL LITERATURE?

We would all be jumping for joy if we could finally say goodbye to cancer

I was reading the papers yesterday when two articles caught my attention. The first one was actually a leaflet that fell out when I turned the pages of a local daily. It proclaimed a cure for cancer. Wow! The world’s biggest pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations are ploughing billions of dollars into cancer research, and guess what? A virtually unknown company in Malaysia has beaten the big boys to the finish line!

If that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are countless advertisements out there all claiming to be the best or the only remedy for one ailment or another. There are also tonics, health supplements and anti-ageing treatment targeted at the seniors market. The companies that manufacture these products back their claims with impressive research statistics and testimonials from satisfied customers. The big question is - how far can we trust these product claims?

I found the answer in the second article. It was the front page headline in my subscriber copy of the International Herald Tribune (IHT) that caught my attention - "Behind some medical literature, drug industry's invisible hand".

“Newly unveiled court documents show that ghostwriters paid by a pharmaceutical company played a major role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of hormone replacement therapy in women, suggesting that the level of hidden industry influence on medical literature is broader than previously known.” (Want to know which company is involved? Click here to find out).

Apparently, the practice of ghost-writing for drug companies has been going on for some time. There are court cases involving some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry.

This is the modus operandi: the drug company hires a medical communications company to draft the article promoting the efficacy of a certain drug or therapy. Then it approaches top physicians to sign their names to the article. Such articles usually highlight the benefits of the drug and play down the side-effects. The unsuspecting end-user trusts what’s written and purchases the drug.

The next time you go to the pharmacy or drug-store, do some research first before you make any purchases. Don’t trust everything you read about a wonder drug or a miracle cure. Don’t be taken in by the superlative claims made in medical advertisements.

Be even more wary when you read about a break-through cure for cancer. The last time I checked, which was this morning, 1962 Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine, Dr James Watson has this to say in his article "To Fight Cancer, Know The Enemy": "We still do not yet have in hand the 'miracle drugs' that would stop most metastatic cancer cells in their tracks".

Think twice before you part with your money on expensive tonics and pharmaceuticals. And if you do find a genuine miracle cure for cancer, don’t keep it to yourself. Share.

GIVE PEACE(FUL PROTESTS) A CHANCE

I was away in Singapore during the recent anti-ISA street protests in KL. But I managed to catch some footage of it on Channel 5. It’s certainly not the kind of image you want to see of your country on the telly.

I remember back in the late 60s taking part in student protests against police brutality and against the ISA detention of Hamid Tuah. I was an undergraduate at University of Malaya then. We went on a peaceful march with our placards to show how we felt about these issues. Midway during the march, the police fired tear gas at us to disperse us. Their action was totally uncalled for.

Now, 40 years down the road, things have not changed much as far as police action is concerned. Whenever there is news of an imminent street protest or rally, road blocks are set up to prevent people from amassing. The police are out in force, armed with riot gear, tear gas canisters and backed by water cannon vehicles and helicopters. They are in readiness to battle the protesters.

And what do these protesters have on them? Guns? Parangs? NO. Just placards, banners, masks, and colour-coded T-shirts. Paper and cloth against metal and chemical weaponry. Is there a need for such show of might against unarmed, defenceless men and women? Is there a need to instil fear in the people?

Clenched fists and raised voices for a universal cause (read justice, transparency, corruption, human rights) do not constitute potential danger if left to run its course. Malaysians are mature enough to know that violent street protests do more harm than good, and do not serve their cause. Let the people shout their slogans. Let them release their pent-up frustrations and grievances. Let them be seen and heard in the streets, in the media and on the world stage. This is the people’s right. Shut them up, suppress them, stifle them, and they will explode.

Governments are supposed to listen to the people. Find out if they have a real cause to complain. If they do, work out a solution together. This is an integral part of public service that seems to have been conveniently forgotten.

Remove the road blocks. Get rid of the riot armoury. The police should be there only to protect, not to attack. Learn from the mistakes of oppressive regimes. Do not let the country descend into the Dark Ages.

Give peaceful protests and rallies a chance.

PUTTING THE SPARKLE BACK INTO YOUR SMILE

The Specialist Dental Group (SDG) team: (from left) Dr Patricia Yeong, Dr Neo Tee Khin, Dr Helena Lee, Dr Ansgar Cheng, Dr Elvin Leong, Dr Ho Kok Sen and Dr Eugene Chan.

Dental woes are the bane of many a senior citizen. Back in the 1950s and 60s when we seniors were in our early teens, a toothache meant an immediate extraction often by an unlicensed 'dentist' who learned his trade as an apprentice to a quack much like him. We grew up without the benefit of regular dental check-ups, flouride in our drinking water or toothpaste.

Dental care has come a long way since then as I discovered after attending a dental seminar at Suntec Convention Centre this afternoon. It turned out to be a most enlightening and enriching

three hours spent learning about oral health and the latest in dental procedures.

Organized by Channel NewsAsia, the seminar featured a panel of six highly qualified and experienced professionals from Specialist Dental Group (SDG). Together they covered a wide spectrum of topics that were of interest and relevance to the general public.

The 600-seat auditorium was packed to capacity. At S$11 admission fee (for early registration), it was definitely value for money. Some of the things I picked up at the seminar:

~ Not many people realize this - our mouth is a window to our health. Poor dental hygiene, for example, may lead to periodontitis or gum disease. In her opening talk "The Mouth and Body Connection", periodontist Dr Helena Lee presented clear evidence of the link between oral health and health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, premature births and digestive problems. Treatment and healing for gum disease is more difficult in smokers. The good news is that gum disease is preventable with early diagnosis. That means a dental check-up every six months.

~ Dental procedures, including surgery, are relatively pain-free today. Trust me on this one as I had bone-grafting done in my lower jaw last December. I was given local anesthesia, so I was fully conscious during the entire surgery. I hardly felt any pain under the expert hands of Dr Ho Kok Sen from SDG.

~ Braces are no longer confined to the traditional metal ones. Says orthodontist Dr Patricia Yeong, "Braces can be a fashion statement as they now come in various materials and colours. Some can be worn behind the teeth so no one knows you are wearing braces." I am sure such braces would be a hit with adults seeking to straighten their teeth. The latest type of braces is Invisalign. The name says it all. According to accredited Invisalign orthodontist Dr Eugene Chan, these braces are made of a clear transparent material that renders them almost invisible. They help to straighten teeth invisibly without any discomfort or need for lifestyle changes. My daughter uses these braces. She has no complaints at all despite having to wear them 24/7. She only removes them when eating.

The Invisalign pamphlet

~ For people with missing teeth, a much better alternative to dentures is implants. Implants function like permanent teeth. You eat better, and speak and smile with more confidence. Your self-esteem improves, and so does your quality of life. The whole procedure may take several visits to the clinic but at no time do you leave the clinic with missing teeth, especially the front ones. This is welcome news for those whose job entails speaking or smiling a lot.

~ There’s also “Teeth-in-an-Hour”. These are implants that can be done in a single session at the clinic. This instant teeth ‘makeover’ is possible thanks to advanced imaging and computer design technology. I am not sure how these instant implants compare with the conventional ones in terms of functionality, durability and cost. Judging from the number of older people gathered around prosthodontists Dr Neo Tee Khin and Dr Ansgar Cheng after the seminar, one can assume that senior Singaporeans are eager to bring back that sparkle into their smile and into their lives!

A section of the capacity crowd during coffee break.

If the objective of the seminar was to educate the public on oral health and hygiene, it certainly achieved the objective. It is a relief to know that, whatever your dental problem, there is a solution. The speakers injected a touch of humour into their powerpoint presentations and effectively turned what could have been a series of boring academic lectures into easily digestible nuggets of dental knowledge for the lay person.

The contents of my goody bag - thanks to the generous sponsors.

Besides taking home useful information on oral care and solutions, participants also received goody bags that contained an assortment of dental products as well as health magazines.

All in all, it was an afternoon well-spent. Count me in for the next seminar!