Malaysia
has set its sights on middle-class tourists from Europe, Australia, the Middle
East, Sri Lanka, China and India to boost its medical tourism industry.
At present, Indonesian tourists contribute to
the bulk of the business in medical tourism, with Penang and Malacca the
popular destinations for treatment.
Minister in the prime minister's Department
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said he was optimistic that middle-class tourists
from other parts of the world would seek medical treatment here as Malaysia
promised first-class medical services at affordable prices.
He said the government had recently set up the
National Health Tourism Council, co-chaired by him and Health minister Datuk
Seri Liow Tiong Lai, to see how best Malaysia could capture the medical tourism
market.
"Of late, there had been more and more
middle-class people emerging in such countries who are willing to pay a little
more for the best medical treatment and this is where we can come in. This is
our market," he said after officiating at the topping-up ceremony of the
Gleneagles Medical Centre here.
Present were Parkway Pantai Limited chair
Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim, Pantai Holdings Bhd chair Khairil Anuar Abdullah,
Gleneagles Medical Centre chair Datuk Seri Dr Goh Eng Toon and Gleneagles
Medical Centre chief executive officer Ronald Koh.
The new RM180 million 19-storey building is
linked to the existing centre.
Upon completion by the third quarter of next
year, it will become an iconic premier hospital of 400 beds with modern wards
complete with innovative facilities to enhance patient comfort.
The new facility will have 10 operating
theatres, 35 intensive care, coronary care and high dependency units, and an
additional cardiac catheterisation laboratory.
Earlier in his speech, Nor Yakcop said the new
facility would create more than 700 jobs, ranging from doctors and nurses to
allied health support staff.
He said Gleneagles Medical Centre was also
targeting RM100 million in foreign revenue for the next five years.
NST.com
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