Malaysia’s Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently visited tulåh Clinical Wellness in Kozhikode, Kerala, where founder Faizal E. Kottikollon proposed an India–Malaysia clinical wellness corridor, with Kerala positioned as a hub for clinical expertise, research and Ayurveda.
The meeting brought together senior figures from both countries, including the Governor of Kerala, Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dato’ Sri Ramanan Ramakrishnan and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Ayush, alongside healthcare and business leaders.
For Kottikollon, the proposed corridor would connect Kerala’s medical expertise and traditional healing knowledge with Malaysia’s healthcare infrastructure, investment and position within ASEAN. It would potentially encompass joint research, international partnerships and the establishment of the tulåh model in Malaysia.
“Knowledge cannot stay with one person; it has to be shared,” Kottikollon said, outlining his vision for Kerala to become a place where people come not only to be treated when sick, but to be kept well.
A Different Model Of Wellness
The proposition reflects a broader shift in how wellness is being approached: not simply as hospitality or retreat, but as a more measured extension of healthcare.
Founded by Kottikollon in 2022, tulåh operates from a restored 30-acre campus combining advanced diagnostics, Ayurveda, integrative medicine and longevity programmes across 12 disciplines. Guests are assessed across seven dimensions of health through the tulåh Life Index, creating a clinical baseline against which progress can be measured.
Its approach is designed to be transferable. tulåh says it has developed registered intellectual property and copyrighted clinical protocols that could allow its model to be practised through international partnerships, with its first two international collaborations expected to be announced later this year.
The campus itself reflects the institution’s broader approach. Once dominated by barren laterite rock, the site has been restored through water-recharge systems, energy-efficient radiant cooling and the reintroduction of more than 500 species. It is also home to the Sonorium, a large-scale sound-healing dome.
Looking Across Borders
For Kerala, the proposed corridor represents an opportunity to attract patients, research and investment while taking its medical and Ayurvedic expertise beyond the state. For Malaysia, it points towards deeper connections with India in healthcare, traditional medicine and wellness.
The Malaysian Prime Minister placed the proposal within a much longer history of exchange between the regions, describing Kerala as a pivotal link in the cultural and intellectual relationship between India and Southeast Asia. He also highlighted the potential for India and Malaysia to strengthen their relationship by learning from each other.
The corridor remains a proposal rather than an established bilateral programme. Its significance, however, lies in the model it suggests: a regional approach to wellness in which clinical medicine, traditional knowledge and research are not treated as separate disciplines, but connected across borders.
