Warga Emas

On the front page of today's Malay-medium newspaper in Brunei (Media Permata, 4 February 2009), there is an article about "tiga orang warga emas" ("three senior citizens", literally "three golden folk") being involved in a fatal traffic accident on the Seria bypass. Then in the next paragraph, their ages are given as 52, 54 and 55.

How old does one need to be in order to be considered a senior citizen? In Britain, the USA and Australia, I doubt very much if people in their low-to-mid-fifties would be described as "senior citizens". So does warga emas have a broader meaning in Brunei? Maybe using the euphemistic designation "golden folk" makes it a little more attractive, so it lowers the age limit? Or perhaps the traditional respect for older people that is found in this part of the world makes such a designation more desirable?

I asked some Malay colleagues at UBD whether I might be classified as warga emas (I am 52 years old), and they unanimously agreed that I could not, and indeed one would have to be over 60 to earn this designation. Well, maybe they were just being polite. After all, I admit that my hair is getting a bit thin, and most of what is left is grey. However, I still got the strong impression that 55 and under is rather young for people to be described as warga emas.

Perhaps it was just a case of a bit of youthful exuberance on the part of the Media Permata reporter.