MALAYSIA TO FOCUS ON HEALTH TOURISM INDUSTRY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia today is focusing on
health tourism industry as an economic driver due to its proximity to the Asean and Middle East market, Human Resources Minister Dr. S Subramaniam said Thursday.

He said the industry is a fast-growing sector due to the affordability of
medical treatments coupled with the large number of world-leading medical
facilities established in Malaysia.

"In support of this sector, foreign visitors are welcome to seek healthcare
services in Malaysia under the Health Tourism programme," he said in his speech
at the Indian Engineering exhibition grand dinner here.

At the dinner, he said Indian engineering related businessmen should start
gearing themselves to serve this lucrative market which not only needs core
equipment but also constant indulging into medical modernisation.

Subramaniam said in order to ensure long-term energy security for the
nation, Malaysia is also looking forward to new energy sources both mid term and
long term.

"We will be enhancing our efforts on developing viable alternative energy
sources such as solar, wind, bio fuels, apart from exploring nuclear
energy.

"The Malaysian government is currently formulating a comprehensive National
Energy Plan to address these needs," he added.

Therefore the engineering requirements for this segment is
enormous and both Malaysian entrepreneurs could work closely with their Indian
counterparts to address these needs.

"With a lot of emphasis on human capital development, Malaysia today has
embarked on numerous strategies to re-skill its work force in all sectors
especially in manufacturing and the service sectors," he added.

-- BERNAMA