KUALA LUMPUR - Confronting a demographic shift where one in six Malaysians will be aged 60 or older by 2040, the country is moving aggressively to turn population aging from a fiscal burden into a major economic growth driver.
Landing in Asia for the first time, the high-level Silver Economy Forum 2026 (SEF26) will convene on November 11–12 in Kuala Lumpur, drawing a closed-door assembly of global institutional heads, corporate titans, and regional policymakers.
Opening the forum is an address by the Perak ruler, His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, who will outline the strategic value of healthy longevity for the long-term prosperity of Malaysia and the wider ASEAN region.
The stakes are pressing: the Asia-Pacific is officially the world’s fastest-aging region. In Malaysia, the proportion of citizens aged 60 and above is projected to surge from 11.6% in 2024 to 17.3% by 2040, forcing a swift rethink of labor markets, healthcare expenditure, and retirement safety nets.
“Our response must be equally bold,” said Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Sri Nancy Shukri, who will deliver Day Two’s keynote on operationalizing Malaysia's silver economy framework.
“SEF26 is an opportunity to align around a shared vision—one where an older population is a source of national strength, not strain. We are committed to making Malaysia a model across ASEAN and beyond.”
The invite-only summit—co-organized by the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS)—gathers a focused room of just 200 to 250 decision-makers.
Malaysia's front bench is out in force:
Datuk Sri Azalina Othman Said, Minister of Law and Institutional Reform
Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Federal Territories
Senior leadership from the Ministry of Health
They will join heavyweights including Japan Cabinet Office Healthcare Policy Executive Director Teiji Hayashi, OECD Deputy Health Head Frederico Guanais, Bayer Pharma APAC chief Simon Rosof, and executive leadership from Nippon Life and Shionogi.
Rather than treating aging solely as a medical dilemma, the forum's sessions target core balance-sheet issues: the fiscal returns of an older workforce, the development of modern "care villages," longevity risk modeling, and new financing blueprints for preventive healthcare.
"Placing healthy longevity at the center of planning unlocks critical workplace, workforce, and innovation reforms that directly benefit national GDPs," said Michael Hodin, CEO of GCOA.
With ASEAN governments shifting the silver economy into top-tier national policy, the upcoming Kuala Lumpur talks will test whether policymakers and industry can transform an aging population into a viable economic dividend. - November 5, 2026
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