MALAYSIA has been proven to be one of the top destinations for medical tourism, attracting those from around the globe looking for excellent and affordable healthcare.
Previously, Indonesia’s President Joko Widowo stated that around 1 million Indonesians head to Malaysia for their medical treatments.
Indonesians can testify to this claim as several of them have compared the healthcare treatments received in their country in contrast to Malaysia’s healthcare industry.
Twitter user Syafiq (@savikovic) shared how he heard of a patient whose kneecaps were treated in Penang at a significant fraction of the cost without undergoing surgery.
“I just heard about a patient who went to 15 doctors who told them to replace their kneecaps which would have cost them around IDR150 million (RM46,395.14).
“They got a second opinion in Penang. There was no need to undergo surgery and the total cost of their treatment was around IDR50 million (RM15,458.07), also including the return ticket,” he said in his post.
Despite not providing much evidence to support his claim, netizens jumped in with their experiences receiving medical treatments in Malaysia, drawing comparisons with their country.
A netizen said that back in Indonesia, her mother was made to take 10 kinds of medicine but once she checked into a hospital in Kuching, Sarawak, the doctor there only prescribed her mother three kinds of medicine and also found that she had swollen heart disease.
Another netizen said that she had a checkup once in Penang and found out that she had a genetic blood disorder after the doctor looked into her hemoglobin (HB) lab test results. While back in Indonesia, she showed the doctor her HB lab test results, and no action was taken after reviewing it.
Meanwhile, some netizens have scrutinised Syafiq’s Twitter post, as it seemed rather odd to them that the individual with the knee problem had to go to 15 doctors and also healed from their ailment without having to go under the knife also seemed dubious to netizens.
In the comments, a medical professional, Dr. Asa Ibrahim (@asaibrahim) did take the time to create a post regarding Syafiq’s tweet and asserted in his post that the knee injury did require a surgical procedure.
He also debunked Syafiq’s claim of having to pay as much as IDR150 million for a knee operation as the expenses can be fully paid for by Indonesia’s Social Security Administrator for Health (BJPSKesehatan) for Indonesian citizens.
