Senior citizens neglected

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: A total of 12,358 senior citizens in the province are categorized as "neglected" and await help from the social services office, Antara reported yesterday.

The agency quoted Mrs. Helmi Ma'mur of the social service office as saying that, due to limited funds, her office has only been able to help 2,570 elderly people.

The elderly people she was referring to were part of 66,000 people over 60 years of age in the province. "The neglected elderly people don't have jobs, income or relatives who take care of them," she said.

"We call on businesspeople to provide the senior citizens with jobs, as many of them are still able to work, especially in handicraft industries," she said.

The province's population currently stands at 1.4 million. (swe)