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France Press November 26th 2002
Malaysian Resort Packages Cosmetic Surgery with Beach Holiday
EDITED BY M. JEGATHESAN
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (AFP) – A Malaysian beach resort
is offering sun, sand and silicone to holidaymakers who would
like to return home with a tan and a larger pair of breasts.
The package is the brainchild of 25-year-old Dutch entrepreneur
Marloes Giezenaar who has set up operations in Penang Island,
usually known as the Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia for its
high-tech industries.
“We offer quality service
– the nip, the tuck and the silicon implant and a holiday
by the sea – all at a reasonable price,” Giezenaar,
Managing Director of Beautiful Holidays, told AFP.
Geizenaar said many of her European and US clients were referred
to her through word of mouth, adding that her business, which
began just six months ago, has started to expand to Japan, Australia,
Hong Kong and neighbouring Singapore.
“Many like
coming to Penang because of the quality of surgery, avoiding
high prices and possible embarrassment back home. There is great
demand for such services,” she said.
Geizenaar said one of her star clients was 19-year-old Britain
model Jennifer Forrest who enjoyed the beach, loved the local
Indian curries and underwent breast surgery, increasing her
34B to a 34D.
The 19-day holiday plan together with the surgery cost 19, 500
ringgit (5, 132 dollars) while just the enlargement would have
cost Forrest double the amount in Britain, Giezenaar said.
“Two days after the operation, Forrest was up and
about shopping,” Giezenaar said. “She is very happy
with what she got.”
Giezenaar said Beautiful Holidays does not offer sex change
operations, which are popular in Thailand, because recovery
often “takes a long time.”
“We have
had 20 people coming for the plastic surgery. Ten people are
booked for operations next year. All of them are women. They
want liposuction, tummy tucks and breast enlargement,”
she said.
Potential clients had initially expressed concern both about
their safety after October 12 Bali terror attack in neighbouring
Indonesia and the quality of the medical service in Malaysia.
“I tell them Penang is a safe place and the doctors’
qualifications are on a par with their Western counterparts,”
she said.
In the 19th century, Penang was a major trading centre for tea
and spices for Europe and then moved on to house hundreds of
US and Japanese electronic giants such as Motorola and Sony,
all the while maintaining a reputation as a holiday resort.
But its latest transformation has not been welcomed by all.
The Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the government
to ban advertisements that link health services with holiday
packages.
The group’s president Mohamad Idris said the lucrative
beauty industry would open up a floodgate of problems.
“Treatment charges in private hospitals will increase
even further. More government medical staff will be drawn into
the private sector with the increase in demand for their services,”
he said in a statement.
But Kee Phaik Cheen, Penang state tourism committee chairman,
told AFP that the state has been promoting the island as a medical
hub for the region in the past two years and downplayed CAP’s
concern.
“We are promoting medical tourism. We
are working closely with the hoteliers and private hospitals.
We do not promote public hospitals,” she said.
Kee said the future of the medical industry in Penang was bright.
“As tourism chief, I am happy. You can enjoy the sun,
the beach and go home with a good set of new boobs."
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