Speech by Datuk Aminah Abdul Rahman - International Council on ...

Assalamualaikum / Salam Sejahtera and Good Morning,1. Bersyukur kepada Allah swt kerana dengan limpahNya dapatkita semua hadir di majlis pagi ini iaitu <strong>International</strong> FamilyDiscourse, anjuran LPPKN dan ICOMP. Saya juga inginmengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Yang BerbahagiaTan Sri Napsiah Omar, pengerusi LPPKN kerana sudi hadir.2. Bagi memudahkan peserta-peserta daripada luar negaraizinkan saya berucap dalam bahasa inggeris.3. First and foremost I would like to take this opportunity towelcome all paper presenters and participants in particular,those from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, India,Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand to this<strong>International</strong> Family Discourse 2012 jointly organized <strong>by</strong> theNational Population and Family Development Board, an agencyunder the Ministry of Women, Family and CommunityDevelopment, Malaysia and <strong>International</strong> <strong>Council</strong> onManagement of Population Programmes (ICOMP).2

Ladies and Gentlemen,4. As we are all aware, the family is the most fundamental buildingblock of our society. The rapidly changing society is putting newpressures on families, making it important to review how wellthey are standing up to new circumstances, expectations andvalues. The stronger the families, the stronger the society andthe nation. Just as a chain is as strong as its weakest link, asociety is only as strong as its weakest unit. By understandingthe factors that weaken the family unit and developinginnovative strategies and programmes that strengthen thefamily institution, would be the greatest need of our times indeveloping nations. The world today is undergoing manyprofound changes and transformations that have impactedfamilies around the globe. Nevertheless, we see some familiesare coping well with these trying times and are happier thanothers. Against this scenario many parties, governments andagencies are developing indexes of happiness and wellbeing.For example, the United Nations have compiled the WorldHappiness Report earlier this year and consequently the UnitedNations has declared March 20 th as the World Happiness Day3

(as pointed <strong>by</strong> a delegate during the recent world family summitheld in Brazil last week).5. Changes in family structures, population ageing, increasingmigration and the HIV/AIDS pandemic are our main concern.The proportion of older persons in the total population hascontinued to rise throughout the world, and it is expected toaccelerate during the next few decades. This will have majorimplications on all aspects of family life, including familycomposition and living arrangements, housing and health care.These trends challenge the family’s ability to fulfill basicfunctions of reproduction, socialization as well as needs offamily members regarding health, nutrition, shelter, physicaland emotional care, and personal development.6. Similarly, Malaysia is on the road to developing its own grewthmodel which incorporates both the Economic and HappinessIndexes. We are pleased that LPPKN, Family Wellbeing Indexhas been utilised for this purpose.4

Ladies and Gentlemen,7. Malaysia has recently formulated its National Family Policywhich was approved <strong>by</strong> the cabinet in 2010. It was not an easytask to do so especially when mainstreaming the familyperspective in all level of socia economic development isrelatively new in many countries and as such there was littleinternational experiences that Malaysia could fall on to. It is ourgreat hope that this jointly organized discourse will create aplatform for exchange of innovative ideas and best practicestowards greater understanding of mainstream family well being.The Organizing Committee members and the NationalPopulation and Family Development Board have structured thediscourse into plenary sessions with the objective of optimizingthe presence of so many dedicated experts, advocates andservice providers here today. We truly hope that with all thepresentations sessions, we would be able to bring backinnovative ideas and strategies on population and familydevelopment programmes.5

8. Once again on behalf of the Organisation Committee, I wouldlike to thank our friends who have made this discourse a realityespecially Dr. Wasim Zaman who has been instrumental inlinking LPPKN with the experts from ICOMP member countries.Our appreciation too to Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri NapsiahOmar, for agreeing to officiate the discourse this morning.Thanks too to all the distinguished paper presenters, agencies,NGOs and individuals who have contributed to the success ofthis discourse.Thank you and wassalaam.6