“An ageing society will affect the youth because we are not living in a vacuum but with groups of other ages.

“Malaysian youths of today face a more precarious future as Malaysia will move from being an ageing society to an aged society in the next two decades.

“This is a big challenge that even I didn’t expect when I was younger,” said Nurul Izzah during her keynote speech at the Youth Economic Forum 2023 at Bank Negara Malaysia.

She said Malaysia’s situation is more challenging than other nations such as France and Sweden as they have 115 years and 85 years respectively before they become aged societies.

Nurul Izzah, who is also a co-chairman of the secretariat of the special advisory body to the finance ministry and a former MP, said youths should be bold in the face of uncertainties as “it’s better to have a brave heart and endure one-half of the terror than suffer nothing at all”.

According to a United Nations study in March, Malaysia became an ageing society in 2020 after its share of individuals aged 65 years and older exceeded 7% of the total population.

The World Bank estimated that Malaysia could reach a super-aged society by 2056, with persons beyond 65 years old accounting for more than 20% of the total population.

On a separate topic, Nurul Izzah also said the Covid-19 pandemic had taught the government the importance of implementing a social safety net for all citizens.

“The pandemic served as a reminder that we cannot allow anyone to fall through the cracks.”

Nurul Izzah said research and forums were being held by Universiti Malaya’s social wellbeing research centre, joined by experts in social security, on how best to handle this situation.