KUALA LUMPUR, 7 September 2020 – With the recent reported recovery rate of 96.6%, Malaysia remains on top internationally, in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic since it broke out in early 2020.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, on August 8, announced that the figure puts the country among the highest in the world. He said, “Malaysia is recognised as one of the best countries (in dealing with COVID-19), with death (due to COVID-19) among the lowest in the world”. Malaysia also received commendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) for being well prepared in handling the situation. Additionally, our Health Director-General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah was recognised as one of the ‘top three doctors’ in the world by China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Citing this positive turn of events, Sherene Azli, CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), said that it has extended the submission deadline of the Medical Travel Media Awards 2020 (MTMA2020) to October 15, 2020 instead. The awards ceremony will be held on December 10, 2020. “This extension gives room to media partners to prepare for entries that could include more recent developments which have made the nation shine internationally,” she said.
A total of 10 awards are slotted for MTMA2020 which is organised by MHTC and supported by Supernewsroom. An international line up of judges made up of communication experts in their own rights will vet through the entries. One of the key criteria to win cash prizes totalling some RM80,000 is the reach of the article on social media. This element has proven to be a key metric in gauging appeal in the content quality as well as the article’s style of presentation.
MTMA was first launched in 2018 and recognises excellence in medical travel journalism covering print, television, radio and online news. The organisers are targeting to receive more international submissions for MTMA2020 boosted by the current media scene, and the new categories that have been introduced.
Malaysia, the World’s Healthcare Marvel
Malaysia is the number one healthcare travel destination by volume according to The Global Market Report 2018 produced by LaingBuisson. Gaining further recognition, Malaysia has been internationally recognised as the “Best Country in the World for Healthcare” from 2015 to 2019 by US-based International Living and “Destination of the Year” for healthcare travel by UK-based International Medical Travel Journal from 2015 to 2017 based on these criteria: quality, accessibility and affordability.
For more information on MTMA2020 and to submit your entries, please visit: https://www.mhtc.org.my/mtma/ or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MyMTMA/
MTMA2020 welcomes entry submissions from both local and international media organisations.
