Adham Baba

Dato' Sri Dr. Adham bin Baba (Jawi ادهم بن بابا; born 6 October 1962) is a Malaysian politician who is serving as the Minister of Health in the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin since the formation of the Muhyiddin cabinet in March 2020.[1] During his tenure as the Minister of Health, he was known to have made several controversial remarks during the Covid-19 pandemic, most notably the claim that drinking warm water helps prevent Covid-19 transmission.

In this Malay name, the name Baba is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Adham.
Yang Berhormat Dato' Sri Dr.

Adham Baba

SSAP SIMP DMSM MP
ادهم بن بابا
Minister of Health
Assumed office
10 March 2020
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterMuhyiddin Yassin
DeputyNoor Azmi Ghazali
Aaron Ago Dagang
Director-GeneralNoor Hisham Abdullah
Preceded byDzulkefly Ahmad
ConstituencyTenggara
Parliamentary Secretary,
Ministry of Higher Education
In office
27 March 2004 – 18 March 2008
MonarchSirajuddin
Mizan Zainal Abidin
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
MinisterShafie Salleh (2004–2006)
Mustapa Mohamed (2006–2008)
Preceded byMahadzir Mohd Khir as Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Education
Succeeded byPosition Abolished
ConstituencyTenggara
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tenggara
Assumed office
9 May 2018
Preceded byHalimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO–BN)
Majority5,933 (2018)
In office
21 March 2004 – 8 March 2008
Preceded byHishamuddin Hussein (UMNO–BN)
Succeeded byHalimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO–BN)
Majority17,088 (2004)
Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly
for Parit Raja
In office
8 March 2008 – 9 May 2018
Preceded byHalimah Mohd Sadique (UMNO–BN)
Succeeded byRashidah Ismail (UMNO–BN)
Majority6,792 (2008)
6,666 (2013)
Personal details
Born
Adham bin Baba

(1962-10-06) 6 October 1962
Sg Dulang Rengit, Batu Pahat, Johor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Nationality Malaysia
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations		Barisan Nasional (BN)
Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Muafakat Nasional (MN)
Spouse(s)
Taibah Tabrani
​
(
m. 2007, died)
Children5
OccupationPolitician

Early life

Adham graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree 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 and has so to the present. He has a private clinic called Klinik Adham Sdn Bhd with 18 branches.[2]

He also held several senior positions in government-related companies including the University of Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) Pro-Chancellor from 2013 to 2018.[2] In addition, he had been the Chairman of UniKL Medical Services Sdn Bhd. from 2010 to 2015.[2]

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 the Tenggara parliamentary seat in the 14th general election and won.[2]

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.[1]

Controversies

Incorrect demonstration of surgical mask use

On 13 March 2020, Adham demonstrated the steps to how to wear a surgical mask with head ties during a televised press conference.[3] However, he had shown an incorrect demonstration of surgical mask usage, as he had neglected to fasten the head ties of the surgical mask appropriately. He was subsequently criticized for the misleading demonstration during the televised press conference as he was the appointed Minister of Health.[4][5]

Claim that 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.[6][7] The World Health Organisation (WHO) and former deputy health minister Dr. Lee Boon Chye also refuted the claim, noting that while staying hydrated by drinking water is important for overall health, it does not prevent the Coronavirus infection,[8] whereas Boon Chye added that "warm water that's hot enough to kill the virus will kill the patient first".[9]

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.[10]

Political post on Ministry of Health Facebook page

On 15 April 2020, the official Facebook page of the Malaysian Ministry of Health shared a post from Facebook page "Friends of Adham Baba"[11] 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.[12][13]

The post was removed after garnering criticism from netizens, with many saying that the ministry should have remained neutral and apolitical.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16][17][18]

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.[19]

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.[20][21] This refutes the claims by Adham that the previous government had failed to react adequately to the outbreak.

"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 'over 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 the Health Minister was recognised globally.[22] Netizens on Twitter took notice and mocked Dr. Adham Baba for the "500 countries" claim.[23]

The following day, he acknowledged that he misspoke about the “500 countries” when he meant to say that the videoconference had 500 participants, from 50 countries.[24] This was later corroborated by evidence from the official Facebook page of the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH)[25] which showed on 27 March, that the WHO videoconference in question almost reached 500 participants (498[26] participants shown in photo evidence of the Zoom videoconference organised by the WHO), one of which was the Crisis Preparedness & Response Centre (CPRC) of the MOH.[27]

"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.[28] His statement immediately drew flak among netizens, with a video clip of his erroneous statement on Twitter gaining at least 99,000 views overnight.[29]

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

Personal life

Adham is married to Taibah Tabrani and has 5 children, of which, 2 are adopted. On April 23, 2007, Adham's wife was suffering from asthma and fainted at her home after suffering from 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.[30]

Election results
Johor State Legislative Assembly[31]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2008 N35 Pasir Raja, P155 Tenggara Adham Baba (UMNO) 9,701 76.93% Menhad Awab (PAS) 2,909 23.07% 12,819 6,792 79.23%
2013 Adham Baba (UMNO) 12,920 67.38% Mohd Nazari Mokhtar (PAS) 6,254 32.68% 19,539 6,666 87.50%
Parliament of Malaysia[32][33][34][35]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2004 P155 Tenggara, Johor Adham Baba (UMNO) 19,706 88.27% Salleh Farmin (PAS) 2,618 11.73% 23,056 17,088 77.32%
2018 Adham Baba (UMNO) 20,142 54.39% Norjepri Mohamed Jelani (PPBM) 14,209 38.37% 37,818 5,933 84.51%
Yuhanita Yunan (PAS) 2,683 7.24%

Honours

References
  1. "Who is Dr Adham Baba, the health minister who will lead fight against Covid-19?". Malay Mail. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. "Dr Adham Baba terajui Kementerian Kesihatan". Astro Awani. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. Yusoff, Rashid [@RashidYusoff11] (12 March 2020). "Gelagat Riang Ria Menteri Kesihatan Baru" (Tweet) (in Indonesian). Retrieved 21 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. Mohanakrishnan, Arjun. "(Video) Doctor on Twitter points out Health Minister didn't wear mask properly". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. "Ini gelagat Menteri Kesihatan ketika krisis wabak COVID-19 yang buatkan rakyat keliru". OrangKata.my. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. "Health Minister's 'warm water method' to kill coronavirus questioned". The Star.
  7. "Dr Amalina: Tiada bukti petua minum air elak Covid-19". malaysiakini.
  8. "Health Minister Claims Warm Water Can Kill Coronavirus Because It "Doesn't Like Heat"". Says.
  9. "Trying to stop Covid-19 with warm water would kill patient first: Lee Boon Chye". The Sun Daily.
  10. "Health DG appears to disagree with Health Minister on Warm Water claim". The Rakyat Post.
  11. "Friends Of Dr Adham Baba". Archived from the original on 20 April 2020.
  12. "Health Ministry's political post on Facebook page irks netizens". Edgeprop.my. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. "Tweet with a screenshot of the political post in question". Archived from the original on 13 April 2020.
  14. "Political post on Health Ministry's Facebook page causes a stir". Malaysiakini. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  15. "Sri Petaling Tabligh gathering remains Msia's largest Covid-19 cluster". New Straits Times. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  16. "Beset at its birth - Malaysia's new government may be even more unstable than old one". The Economist. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  17. "Malaysia's Health Minister blames previous PH govt for failure to contain Covid-19 surge". The Straits Times. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  18. "Dzulkefly says efforts to contain Covid-19 hijacked by 'Sheraton Move'". Malay Mail.
  19. "Malaysia's new Cabinet ministers sworn in". CNA. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  20. "Fact-Checking Dr Adham Baba's Claim That PH Failed To Contain The Tabligh Cluster". Says.
  21. "Dzul: Maybe ex-home minister Muhyiddin 'too focused elsewhere' to realise tabligh event". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  22. "Health minister mocked over '500 countries' claim". The Malaysian Insight.
  23. "Twitterjaya abuzz over health minister's '500 countries' remark". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  24. Ar, Zurairi. "'500 participants, not countries': Dr Adham Baba explains slip of tongue in Covid-19 video call | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  25. "Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia". Retrieved 19 April 2020 – via Facebook.
  26. "Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia". Retrieved 19 April 2020 – via Facebook.
  27. "Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia". Retrieved 19 April 2020 – via Facebook.
  28. @LagaCawan (18 April 2020). "Tahukah anda sebelum dunia berpecah kepada 500 negara, Malaysia juga mempunyai 15 buah negeri. Marang agaknya satu lagi" (Tweet) (in Indonesian). Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  29. "Video menteri sebut '15 negeri' pula tular, warga maya bingung (VIDEO)". www.msn.com. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  30. "Parlimentary secretary's wife dies". The Star. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  31. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 14 April 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout, including votes for third parties. Results before 1986 election unavailable.
  32. "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  33. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  34. "Semakan Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  35. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  36. "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2003" (PDF).
  37. "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2013" (PDF).
  38. "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2016" (PDF).
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