Suriaghandi Suppiah, CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) said the country’s healthcare travel industry was a key economic engine, not a luxury policy.
“For every ringgit spent on medical care, an estimated RM4 flows into the broader economy such as hotels, airlines, restaurants, ground transport and retail,” he told FMT.
He said the sector generated RM3.34 billion in direct medical revenue last year, while creating a wider multiplier effect of about RM13 billion in total economic activity.
“This is money that goes into the pockets of hotel workers, taxi drivers, restaurant operators and small businesses—not just hospital shareholders.”
Suriaghandi was responding to a recent protest which saw PSM members march from Brickfields to the MHTC office to oppose the Malaysia Year of Medical Tourism 2026, saying public funds should not be used to support private healthcare.
In December, PSM’s Chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said private hospitals were luring government specialists away with higher salaries, leading to shortages in key areas such as oncology and cardiology in public hospitals.
Suriaghandi took a different view, arguing that investing in medical tourism acts as a catalyst for broader economic growth, with private hospitals, hotels, and airlines contributing through corporate taxes.
“Those taxes fund schools, hospitals, infrastructure and social programmes. To frame RM20 million as money taken from the rakyat is to ignore the RM13 billion ecosystem it helps sustain,” he said.
Brain drain concerns
Suriaghandi acknowledged concerns over the migration of specialists from public to private hospitals, but said the answer does not lie in putting restrictions on the private sector.
“This is a real and long-standing challenge. But medical tourism is part of the solution to keeping specialists in Malaysia,” he said.
He said investments in advanced equipment and high-end infrastructure by private hospitals allowed doctors to practice at a global standard without leaving for countries such as Singapore, the UK or Australia.
“Malaysia retains talent because our private hospitals are globally competitive. Weakening that competitiveness would accelerate the brain drain, not slow it,” he added.
He also said a strong private sector could ease pressure on public hospitals by serving a different pool of patients, particularly foreign ones.
Azrul Khalib of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy also disagreed with PSM, describing health tourism as an important element of the nation’s economic and healthcare strategy.
“It brings in foreign revenue, supports private hospital growth, creates jobs, and strengthens Malaysia’s reputation for quality care,” he told FMT.
He added that the sector also drives demand for hotels, transport, food services, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Malaysia recorded about 1.6 million healthcare travellers in 2024, generating RM2.72 billion in revenue.
“It is not accurate to say health tourism uses taxpayers’ money in the same way as public healthcare subsidies. Most services are paid for by foreign patients,” he said.
Azrul said it fell on the government to ensure that health tourism does not disadvantage local patients or worsen staff shortages in public hospitals.
“It should complement, not undermine, national health goals,” he said.