UK's loss is Sabah's gain (Daily Express - Sunday, 23^rd December 2007)
Mary Chin

PEOPLE from countries, halfway around the world, are coming to the Land Below The Wind, not just to see the orang-utan or proboscis monkey but also for aesthetic reasons - a good sign of medical and health tourism in Sabah.

Offering holiday cum plastic and reconstructive surgery, Sabah's latest selling-point is Rejuvenating, Relaxing and Recovering.

Cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures include breast augmentation, liposculpture, facial rejuvenation, eyelid surgery, hand rejuvenation, anchored thread face lift, thermage and scar management.

Statistics show that since September last year, some 30 medical tourists, mainly women from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Negara Brunei Darussalam and United States of America, have come to Sabah for three major surgical procedures. These are tummy-tucks, liposuction and breast augmentation.

The exorbitant cost of surgeries in the United Kingdom is driving away those in pursuit of aesthetic or medical treatment. So UK's loss is Sabah's gain.

It's killing two birds with one stone - holidaying in an ideal tourist destination plus cosmetic surgery, yet at an incredibly cheaper cost.

Among the latest to seek liposuction and breast augmentation at the Sabah Medical Centre here are Paul Buckman, 41, a personal fitness trainer, and his girlfriend Tracy Holt, 39, a shop assistant, respectively.

The pair from West Sussex (south of England) came to know about the availability of modern medical services and facilities in Sabah through the Internet. Information on what Sabah has to offer in terms of eco-tourism, cultural tourism and medical tourism, was provided on the website of Gorgeous Getaways, a medical tour operator based in Australia.

Gorgeous Getaways organised the medical tour for Buckman and Holt who said they wanted to get the surgery done here and have a holiday at the same time while recovering.

Holt's contention is the spiraling treatment expenses in her country.

"Surgery in England is very expensive. I went to a consultantÉbreast augmentation is going to cost me over £4,000 (RM26,800). In Sabah, it costs £1,800 (RM12,000).

"Flight costs us £600 (RM4,020) each while accommodation amounts to £400 (RM2,680) per person. Even taking airfares, food and accommodation into account, it's still cheaper in Sabah for a two-week stay. On top of it, we are happy with the outcome of the aesthetic treatment," she told Daily Express.

Breast augmentation involving implants can last up to 20 years, barring any problems, according to Holt.

In Buckman's case, liposuction would cost in the region of £3,800 to £4,000 back home compared with £1,400 (RM9,380) in Sabah. During the two-hour procedure, the consultant plastic surgeon removed two litres of fat from his stomach area. It would take up to about six weeks to get the full advantage of the surgical procedure.

He said: "We don't think there is a cost because we want to have a holiday anyway. And we like Malaysia, so we want to come, especially to this area because of the orang-utans.

"I have friends who travelled a lot and they told me about the orang-utans. One of my friends is a captain who flies with the British Airways. He has been to this part of the world. He told me that the orang-utans in Sabah are beautiful. He said to me 'You must go and see'."

Holt chipped in to say that when they told friends they were coming to Malaysian Borneo, their responses were "Oh, I would love to go there," "We are going there," or "We've got a trip there".

While everything with the National Health Service (NHS) in England is free, including operations, Buckman pointed out that it does not cover surgical procedures for normal people.

"For example, plastic surgery is performed for patients in situations like a road accident or bad burns resulting in facial damage."

According to him, the biggest problem in the United Kingdom now is the people's worry about infections in hospitals.

"MRSA (Multi-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is a serious problem in England. It means the bacteria don't respond to many antibiotics and therefore, it is difficult to treat infection.

"A lot of operations are done in public hospitals which are very dirty and there is a high risk of catching MRSA."

In contrast, Buckman said hospitals in Sabah are clean and tidy, adding he saw pictures on the website and talked to people about their conditions.

Asked why they did not consider Singapore for their surgeries, Buckman and Holt said they were not interested in Singapore although they have been there several times.

"The question of expensiveness doesn't come into it.

It's because of KL, we like the people and that's what makes us come back to Malaysia."

Buckman and Holt have had very good experiences in Malaysia, having stayed in KL for about a week last year before going to Phuket in Thailand.

"Singapore is friendly but I find Malaysia more friendly.

The people here (Malaysia) are absolutely lovelyÉwe have travelled a lot around the world and we have never met so polite people in our lives. So we love Malaysia."

However, they did not know about Sabah then.

Holt added: "KL is nice but Sabah is much nicer because I don't like cities too much. But KK City is lovely."

Previously, the duo had travelled to Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Canada, Northern America, Cuba and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.

Making another comparison, Holt said the doctor in Sabah made them feel relaxed as he got down to work "unlike in England, where doctors are a bit more reserved."

During the consultation process, he offered detailed information by way of texts, audiovisual aids, diagrams and clinical photographs to assist in the decision-making process.

"The doctor came down to see us quite a number of times after the operationÉa very caring and committed doctor. We stayed in the hospital overnight and had regular reviews.

This is our second week in Sabah."

Both Buckman and Holt heaped praises on Angela (Gorgeous Getaways' representative), saying she is fantastic.

"Angela is a Malaysian. She is very good. She met us at the airport, took care of us and accompanied us to the hospital.

From the hospital, she took us shopping to get the things we needed. The Centre Point is fantastic."

This was part of the package with Gorgeous Getaways, they added.

The couple is enthusiastic about coming back to Sabah next year to see the orang-utans.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get to see them (orang-utans)Éwe had to take rest in the hotel.

Sutera Harbour Resort is simply magnificent."