"I don`t want to see senior citizens in Banten who are neglected only because they are considered a burden to the family," the governor said during the observation ceremony of the National Senior Citizen Day (HLUN) in Banten on Saturday.
Hundreds of senior citizens who attended the function applauded the governor`s remarks, according to a press release made available to ANTARA.
Atut said that based on data at Banten`s Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), there were now about 500 thousands aging people in Banten.
About 14 thousands of whom still needed assistance from the regional government and the people.
She said that the regional government through the office of the social services of Banten would continue to reduce the number of neglected senior citizens.
The governor said that the problem of aging people was not merely the responsibility of the government but also of the people in general.
"In most cases, old citizens are neglected because of the economic conditions of the families which faced difficulty in providing them with the needed care," she said.
Therefore, the governor called on the people who had enough capability to give attention to their aging mothers, fathers and grandparents.
"The people`s roles are badly needed to overcome the problem of aging citizens in Banten," the governor said.(*)
(A014/HAJM/a014)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
