Materia Medica Malaysiana

Malaysia targets Indonesian health tourism market

"Is it ethical to profit from sick men and women?" a friend of mine asked during a recent trip to several cities in Malaysia.
"I don't know. But many of them are healthy. They are rich people coming here just for medical checkups or plastic surgery, while enjoying the tourist attractions at the same time," I replied.
Health tourism is already officially sanctioned in many countries, including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Expecting to reap huge benefits, some states in Malaysia are now targeting the Indonesian market, offering lower costs than either Singapore or Thailand.
The services range from general checkups to heart surgery, with the latest technology and equipment and overseas-trained doctors.
"Our services and doctors are as good as in Singapore and we are less expensive then they are. You see, the exchange rate for the Indonesian rupiah against the Malaysian ringgit is better than against the Singapore dollar," said Akbar Bin Ali, the director of the Melaka Tourism Promotion Board.
Akbar said the Indonesia market had great potential, with 90 percent of last year's 47,000 visitors coming to Malaysia's second smallest state for health tourism reasons being Indonesian.
He said that many of the Indonesian tourists came from Padang, West Sumatra, Pekanbaru, Riau, and Medan, North Sumatra as these cities had direct flights or ferries to cities in Malaysia as well as no departure tax.
"With Indonesia's population of 220 million people, we hope that more and more Indonesian people will come here, such as people from Jakarta or Surabaya," said Akbar.