SINGAPORE – When Health Minister Ong Ye Kung invites elderly residents in his ward to visit active ageing centres, “I will emphasise to them that everything is free and we will belanja (treat) them”.

“Their faces, without fail, will always light up. Perhaps at their age, and living alone, very few people invite them anywhere,” said Mr Ong on May 3, as he shared with community care workers how he engages with seniors living alone during his weekly home visits in Sembawang Central.