Materia Medica Malaysiana

Malaysia woos health tourists from Middle East

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - Malaysia unveiled plans Tuesday to become a medical hub for Muslims with promises of halal meals at hospitals and doctors who pray before performing surgery.
The government will launch a publicity campaign in the Middle East early next year to encourage patients to seek health care in this Southeast Asian nation instead of traditional destinations in the West, where officials said some Muslims fear encountering anti-Arab sentiment and distrust.

"We'll be the world champion in getting people to come enjoy our medical services," Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Fadzir said Tuesday at a ceremony where health institutions agreed to boost efforts to attract foreigners.

Officials will organise information roadshows in the Middle East, publish brochures, screen commercials on the popular Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera and invite health authorities to Malaysia to endorse its facilities, said Abdul Kadir.

Former Malaysian diplomat Syed Hussein Al-Habsee said the campaign would focus on the Persian Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, where he said health infrastructure lagged behind Malaysia.

Officials will emphasise that halal food is served in major hospitals, special prayer rooms are available and Muslim doctors hold prayers before operations, Syed Hussein said. Travel packages will include hassle-free visa and interpreter services.

Each year Malaysia treats about 100,000 foreign patients, mostly from nearby Muslim countries Indonesia and Brunei, said Ridzwan Bakar, head of the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia.

Patients from the Middle East have risen since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, with many bringing their families and spending at least two weeks in the country, Ridzwan said.

Foreign patients come for a variety of procedures, including heart bypass operations, hip transplants, infertility treatment, corrective laser eye surgery, dental work and cosmetic operations.

Treatment also comes comparatively cheap - a heart bypass patient would spend less than US$7,000 in Malaysia, double that amount in neighbouring Singapore and 10 times more in the United States, Ridzwan said.

The sector, which Malaysia calls "health tourism," brought 150 million ringgit (US$40 million) in revenue last year. Officials hope to triple it to more than 540 million ringgit (US$140 million) by 2005.