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Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Dr.Adham BabaDMSM MP
ادهم بن بابا
File:Dr Adham Baba in a press conference.jpgDr Adham Baba in a press conference during mid-March.
Minister of Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 March 2020
Monarch	Abdullah
Prime Minister	Muhyiddin Yassin
Deputy	Noor Azmi Ghazali Aaron Ago Dagang
Preceded by	Dzulkefly Ahmad
Constituency	Tenggara
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Tenggara
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 May 2018
Preceded by	Halimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO—BN)
Majority	5,933 (2018)
In office 21 March 2004 – 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Hishamuddin Hussein (UMNO—BN)
Succeeded by	Halimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO—BN)
Majority	17,088 (2004)
Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly for Parit Raja
In office 8 March 2008 – 9 May 2018
Preceded by	Halimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO—BN)
Succeeded by	Rashidah Ismail (UMNO—BN)
Majority	6,792 (2008) 6,666 (2013)
Personal details
Born	Adham bin Baba (1962-10-06) 6 October 1962 (age 62) Sg Dulang Rengit, Batu Pahat, Johor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship	Malaysian
Nationality	Malaysia
Political party	UMNO
Spouse	Taibah Tabrani ​ ​(m. 2007, died)​
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Malaya
Occupation	Politician

Dr. Adham bin Baba (Jawi ادهم بن بابا; born 6 October 1962) is a Malaysian politician. Since 10 March 2020, Baba has been serving in the Cabinet of Malaysia as the Minister of Health.

Early life

Adham graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Malaya in 1987. Upon graduation, he served as a medical officer in the Ministry of Health from 1988 to 1990. In the same year, Adham began his first career as a medical doctor in the private sector in 1990 to the present. He has a private clinic called Klinik Adham Sdn Bhd with 18 branches.

He also held several senior positions in government related companies including the University of Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) Pro Chancellor from 2013 to 2018. In addition, he had been the Chairman of UniKL Medical Services Sdn Bhd. from 2010 to 2015.

Political career

He first became involved in politics in 1991 with the post of UMNO Committee Member for Senai Division. After that, he began to hold an important portfolio in the ministry. Among them, Special Education Officer in the Ministry of Youth and Sports from 2000 to 2004.

In 2004, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Tenggara. He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education until 2008.

In 2008, he was elected as the State Assembly Member for Pasir Raja. He was the assemblyman of the constituency until 2018.

He contested for Tenggara parliamentary seat in the 14th general election at the second time and winning the seat.

In 9 March 2020, he was appointed as the Minister of Health by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Muhammad Yassin. The appointment is made as the country faces COVID-19 disease.

Controversy

Incorrect Demonstration of Surgical Mask Usage

On 13 March 2020, Adham demonstrated the steps of wearing a surgical mask with head ties during a televised press conference. However, he had shown an incorrect demonstration of surgical mask usage, as the he had neglected to fasten the head ties appropriately. He was subsequently criticized for the misleading demonstration during the televised press conference as the appointed Minister of Health.

Claim on Warm Water Helps Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

On 19 March 2020, Adham advised the public that drinking warm water will help prevent COVID-19 virus infection as the virus will be flushed down to the stomach and the digestive acids will kill any virus, while being on a televised interview on RTM's Bicara Naratif programme. His remarks later went viral on social media, with many netizens questioning his claim.

Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri had criticised Adham saying that there was no scientific evidence that the stomach's acid can kill the virus. World Health Organisation (WHO) and former deputy health minister Dr. Lee Boon Chye has also refuted the claim, noting that while staying hydrated by drinking water is important for overall health, it does not prevent the coronavirus infection, whereas Boon Chye added that "warm water will kill the patient first".

Health Director-General Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah later refuted Adham's statement, commenting that the Health Ministry's approach for patient treatment and management is always based on scientific evidence.

Political Post on Ministry of Health Facebook Page

On 15 April 2020, the official Facebook page of Malaysian Ministry of Health had shared a post from Facebook page "Friends of Adham Baba" which lauded the contributions of Adham in the COVID-19 pandemic, while claiming that the previous administration was being ineffective at dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

The post was removed after garnering criticism from netizens, with many saying that the ministry should have remained neutral and apolitical.

Former Pakatan Harapan Administration Blamed for Failing to Contain Tabligh Cluster

On 18 April 2020, in a live-streamed video conference call with UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Adham erroneously claimed that the previous Pakatan Harapan government has failed to contain the tabligh cluster happened from 27 February to 1 March, which grew to become a source of the largest COVID-19 infections.

As the tabligh event at Sri Petaling Mosque was held from 27 February to 1 March, Malaysia did not possess any ruling government as the Pakatan Harapan administration had collapsed due to the political crisis of which had occurred from the end of February and into two weeks of March caused by the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), among the four component parties of Pakatan Harapan, had exit the coalition and subsequently took part in the formation of Perikatan Nasional composed of PPBM, parties within Barisan Nasional and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), which was sworn in on May 1 as the ruling coalition without a general election taking place.

The Ministry of Health was without any Health Minister until 9 March, when the 21st Cabinet of Malaysia was sworn in amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Since December 2019, the Ministry of Health under the former Pakatan Harapan Administration, had prepared for COVID-19 infections since December 2019, when seven hospitals were planned and identified to treat COVID-19 patients even before the first cases were reported on 25 January 2020.

"WHO Conference Call with 500 Countries" Statement

On 18 April 2020, Adham erroneously claimed that he participated in a World Health Organisation (WHO) video-conferencing session with 500 countries during a Facebook live session with UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Adham had also claimed that he was confident that his accomplishments as a Health Minister was recognised globally. Netizens on Twitter took notice and mocked Dr. Adham Baba for the "500 countries" claim.

The following day, he acknowledged that he misspoke about “500 countries” when he meant to say that the videoconference had 500 participants, from 50 countries. This was later debunked by evidence from the official Facebook page of the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) which showed on 27 March, that the WHO video conference in question did not reach 500 participants. Local news portal MHDaily reported that the photograph which originally showed the video conference had 338 participants was later edited to display 538 participants instead.

"15 States in Malaysia" Statement

On 20 April 2020, Adham made a gaffe by erroneously mentioning "15 states in Malaysia" during a press conference while commenting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. His statements immediately drew flak among netizens, with a video clip of his erroneous statement on Twitter gaining at least 99,000 views overnight.

There are only 13 states and 3 federal territories in Malaysia.

Personal life

Adham is married to Taibah Tabrani and has 3 children and 2 adopted children. On April 23, 2007, Adham's wife suffered from asthma and fainting at her home after suffering a respiratory problem. She was later rushed to the hospital but she passed away. At the time, Adham was in Auckland, New Zealand on official duty.

Honours

•  Malacca :
  • Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) – Datuk (2003)
•  Pahang :
  • Sri Indera Mahkota Pahang (SIMP) – Dato' Indera (2013)
  • Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2016)

Election results

References

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2. ^ "Dr Adham Baba terajui Kementerian Kesihatan". Astro Awani. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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4. Mohanakrishnan, Arjun. "(Video) Doctor on Twitter points out Health Minister didn't wear mask properly". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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• 1962 births
• Living people
• People from Negeri Sembilan
• Malaysian people of Malay descent
• Malaysian Muslims
• United Malays National Organisation politicians
• Members of the Dewan Rakyat