IT’s time big developers who have reaped millions by the sale of high-end properties fulfilled the needs of senior citizens.

Building some retirement homes would be a noble gesture. Many elderly folk live in homes that have become unsuitable because of difficulties like climbing stairs.

They are afraid to leave their comfort zone, the well-trodden pathways, the friendly supermarkets and other amenities they have patronised in their more agile and active days.

A cluster of little villas, with basic amenities, incorporating a tiny park or rest area would be a boon to these people in dire need to buy alternative habitat in their golden years.

Little pockets of land that remain with the land bank of housing developers, on completion of big projects could be used for purposes like these instead of suffocating the place with more high rise condominiums, squeezed into narrow strip.

Contacting buyers of years gone by, from the registers, doing a survey to assess the demand for such a domain within the same locality would give enough on the feasibility of such a project.

This would be a haven for many elderly citizens whose children have left the family nest and fulfil their filial duties only when the holidays come by.

CHANDRA PILLAI, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 11, 2008