Assalamualaikum and greetings from Malaysia Healthcare!

A fresh journey awaits us all as we enter the second half of 2020. Malaysia is now open for healthcare travel!

On 19th June 2020, Senior Minister (Security) Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made this announcement while emphasising the need to exemplify prioritisation of safety for both locals and inbound healthcare travellers. We have collaboratively prepared stringent SOPs which have been made available publicly and will continue to refine and adapt it accordingly to industry and national needs.

Healthcare travel is set to open up several new avenues for the nation’s economic growth, especially with the Government’s decision to implement the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO). This signals the nation’s movement into the recovery phase post pandemic and is encouraging news as we start to rehabilitate the healthcare travel industry and drive our efforts to showcase Malaysia as the World’s Healthcare Marvel.

With healthcare now being a major priority globally, I would like to personally thank the Ministry of Health Malaysia for their guidance and support in providing us a platform to launch the industry further. Placed under the purview of Ministry of Health, Malaysia Healthcare will continue to serve healthcare travellers in the age of the new norm, exemplifying patient safety.

In the last few months, Malaysia has been named by several international organisations including the World Health Organization for our effectiveness in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. This international recognition is further testament to Malaysia’s potential for growth in healthcare and related services.

Moving forward, we will continue to draw focus on Malaysia as the Asian Hubs for Fertility & Cardiology, while highlighting Malaysia’s healthcare capabilities and strengths as a world-class quality healthcare provider. This includes preparing for a healthy industry rebound through proactive campaigns and leveraging digital platforms to keep reiterating our brand presence in our core target markets. With this, we will be able to direct a more concentrated effort in driving sustainable industry growth for Malaysia to be continually recognised as the World’s Healthcare Marvel.

With the announcement of the RMCO, Malaysia Healthcare congratulates the efforts of our frontliners as they fight valiantly against COVID-19. To express our heartfelt gratitude to our unsung heroes, staff members at the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) put together several social initiatives such as a fundraiser through Projek SamaSama. We also put together a Gerobok Raya initiative to treat frontliners with traditional Raya treats as we witnessed unique Ramadan and Hari Raya celebrations nationwide this year.

With renewed energy, I am also happy to announce that Malaysia Healthcare has commenced work on insigHT2020, scheduled to take place from 23 till 26 November 2020. The virtual nature of the fifth edition of Malaysia’s medical travel market intelligence conference will allow speakers and participants from all corners of the globe to join us as we discuss the prospects of healthcare travel for the next 12 months. insigHT2020 will make space for virtual roundtables, global exchange of ideas, online workshops, and much more. Stay tuned to our official website for more information.

This is also our second year running the first-in-the-world media awards for excellence in medical and travel journalism - the Medical Travel Media Awards 2020 (MTMA2020) . I’d like to take this opportunity to invite both local and international media to submit their work across all platforms by 15 August 2020 and I look forward to some really exciting entries! More information can be found on MTMA2020’s official website.

Malaysia’s healthcare sector has become an exciting area for the nation’s growth. We remain optimistic in our outlook for this industry and the value that Malaysia holds as the World’s Healthcare Marvel.

We stand by our Government’s efforts as the country moves into the recovery phase and hope that fellow community members adhere to social distancing and other measures necessary to keep emergence of new cases in check. Be safe!

#kitajagakita

Thank you.

Sherene Azli
Chief Executive Officer
Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council