IBIMA Publishing Journal of Southeast Asian Research http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/JSAR/jsar.html Vol. 2017 (2017), Article ID 912568, 10 pages DOI: 10.5171/2017. 912568 ______________ Cite this Article as: Shereen Khan, Olivia Tan, Nasreen Khan and Rossanne Gale Vergara (2017)," Strengthening Social Safety Net for Older People in Malaysia", Journal of Southeast Asian Research, Vol. 2017 (2017), Article ID 912568, DOI: 10.5171/2017.912568 Research Article Strengthening Social Safety Net for Older People in Malaysia Shereen Khan, Olivia Tan, Nasreen Khan and Rossanne Gale Vergara Multimedia University, Malaysia Correspondence should be addressed to: Shereen Khan; shereen.khan@mmu.edu.my Received date: 2 June 2016; Accepted date: 14 June 2016; Published date: 16 January 2017 Academic Editor: Susan Tee Suan Chin Copyright © 2017. Shereen Khan, Olivia Tan, Nasreen Khan and Rossanne Gale Vergara. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 Acknowledgements This article is published as a requirement of FRGS Grant under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Introduction According to a new World Bank Report i , Asia Pacific region is faster in aging than the other Abstract There are a number of social security schemes and institutions in Malaysia but not all has the ability to address the long term financial commitments and provides security during the old age. High inflation rates, global economic growth and changes in employment and social structure have contributed in raising serious concerns about the efficiency of the current social safety net especially when the number of older people has increased due to the increase in life expectancy. An effective social safety net should be able to protect the welfare of a person at their old age and the existing social safety net in Malaysia is not sufficient. Hence, this paper examines the current social safety net in Malaysia for the older people and analyses the efficiency of the protection provided. This paper further discusses the social safety net provided in other jurisdictions specifically in Japan and Singapore. Japan is chosen as one of the countries since Japan is currently having the highest number of elder people in the world and it is worth to look at how Japan is handling the issue currently. Singapore is chosen since it is the neighbouring country and has similar social safety net as in Malaysia. In fact, this paper used the qualitative legal research methodology specifically a comparative and analytical research approach on the social safety net for older people in Malaysia by reference to the social safety nets as practised in Japan. The objective of this paper is whether to recommend an additional measure to be added into the current social safety net in Malaysia to ensure that the welfare of Malaysians at their old age is well protected. Keywords: safety net; old age; social security