“Better and cheaper” – Indonesians Share Why Many From The Country Come to M’sia For Healthcare

Did you know that alongside Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and India, Malaysia is ranked among the top medical tourism destinations in Asia?

This is a testament to the quality of our healthcare industry coupled with our country’s favourable geographical location.

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Previously, we shared how the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo asserted that approximately 1 million from the country come to Malaysia to get medical treatments.

Well, the matter has been a matter of huge debate among Indonesians recently, particularly after several Indonesians took to social media to compare their experiences getting healthcare services in our country compared to their own.

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This tweet by @savikovic or syafiq shahab was the catalyst of the debate, whereby he claimed that medical treatment in Penang not only cured an Indonesian patient having a knee injury but did so without having to undergo an operation and at just a third of the cost.

In the tweet that has garnered over 1,180 retweets and more than 5,600 likes, syafiq asserted,

“I just heard about the experience of a patient that was told by 15 Indonesian doctors that they had to replace their knee cap in an operation worth IDR150 million (approximately RM46,258).”

“They sought a second opinion at a doctor in Penang and were told that they don’t need to undergo an operation and the cost of treatment was IDR50 million (approximately RM15,419), which already include the return flight tickets.”

While Syafiq didn’t actually produce any evidence for the claim, the tweet garnered responses from other Indonesians who shared their own stories of getting medical treatments in Malaysia compared to in Indonesia.

One reply claimed that even medical doctors from Indonesia chose to get healthcare treatments in Malaysia, be it in Penang, Kuala Lumpur or Melaka, and Singapore, especially those who stay within a 1 to 2-hour flight distance away from the two countries.

Meanwhile, another reply said that a friend’s in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Penang was successful when the same procedure in Jakarta failed twice. Furthermore, the cost of the treatment in Malaysia was more or less the same as in Jakarta but included the return flight tickets and hotel stay.

Besides that, there is also one netizen who shared that she successfully undergo Lasik eye surgery in Penang and the cost was cheaper than doing the same procedure at Jakarta Eye Center but included the return flight tickets, hotel stay and she even managed to go sightseeing on the island.

However, circling back to the first tweet, many replies found the claim was a bit suspect as it’s unlikely for someone to seek medical advice from 15 doctors.

Furthermore, given that the man said that the man was cured of his knee injuries without undergoing surgery was also rather dubious.

In a Twitter thread replying to the tweet, an Indonesian medical professional Dr Asa Ibrahim said that an osteoarthritis condition like what the patient was seemingly facing does need a knee operation so that it can be treated.

Furthermore, he also refuted the claim that you need IDR150 million to undergo knee surgery as an Indonesian citizen can get the operation fully covered by the country’s Social Security Administrator for Health (BPJS Kesehatan).

So, what do you guys think of the whole debate? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Also read: Better Healthcare Here? Indonesian President Says 1 Million Indonesians Get Medical Help in M’sia Every Year