Indonesians flocking to Penang for medical care

They account for 90% of state's medical tourism revenue as sector sees healthy growth

- Lu Wei Hoong

Upon touchdown at Penang International Airport, an elderly Indonesian man and his 36-year-old daughter make their way, as per usual, through the snaking immigration clearance queues. They collect their baggage and are greeted by the familiar sight of minivans waiting to take them to their Georgetown hotel.

Trips to Penang from Jakarta are routine for the 75-year-old, who has made the six-hour door-todoor journey at least twice a year for almost two decades.

But these sojourns are far from a holiday for Mr Putra, who requested the use of a pseudonym for reasons of medical privacy. The retiree, who currently lives in Jakarta, was born in the Indonesian city of Medan - just across the Malacca Strait from Penang.

He is among the one million Indonesians who seek medical treatment in Malaysia each year, of the total two million outbound medical tourists from the archipelago.

This is costing the country US$10.6 billion (S$13.6 billion) annually in capital outflows, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo lamented in 2023.

During the 50-minute ride in a minivan arranged by Island Hospital where he had a medical check-up scheduled the next dayMr Putra told The Straits Times: "I had lumbar spine surgery in 2015.

The doctors in Penang are more efficient than their Indonesian counterparts. I came in June 2024, and now I'm back in September for a follow-up." Island Hospital is one of several private medical centres in Penang that medical tourists make a beeline for.

Penang, the northern state in Peninsular Malaysia known for its medical tourism, accounted for half of Malaysia's 2023 revenue from medical tourism, valued at US$444 million (S$571 million), according to a 2024 RHB research report. Thailand leads the medical tourism sector in Asean with US$850 million, followed by Malaysia, and Singapore in third place with a share of between US$250 million and US$270 million.