Adham Baba
Adham Baba | |
|---|---|
| ادهم بن بابا | |
| Minister of Health | |
| 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, Johor | |
| 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 6 October 1962 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 government official. Since 10 March 2020, Baba has been serving in the Cabinet of Malaysia as the Minister of Health.[1]
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.[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 Tenggara parliamentary seat in the 14th general election at the second time and winning the seat.[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]
Controversy
Warm Water Helps Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus
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 interviewed at RTM's Bicara Naratif programme. His remarks later went viral on social media, with many netizens questioning his dubious 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.[3] World Health Organisation (WHO) 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.[4] 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.[5]
Pakatan Harapan Blamed for Failing to Contain Tabligh Cluster
On 18 April 2020, Adham in a live-streamed video conference call with UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, he erroneously claimed that the previous Pakatan Harapan government has failed to contain the tabligh cluster happened from 27 February to 3 March, which grew to become a source of the largest Covid-19 infections. Notably, 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 caused by the Perikatan Nasional ruling coalition which came to power without any general election taking place.[6] The Ministry of Health was without any Health Minister until 10 March, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. Another important fact that Adham omitted is that the Ministry of Health under the previous health minister Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad had prepared for the 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. [7]
WHO Conference Call with 500 Countries
On 18 April 2020, Adham was ridiculed once again for erroneously claiming that he conducted video-conferencing with 500 countries within the World Health Organisation (WHO) members during a Facebook live session with UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He also boasted that he was confident that his accomplishments as a Health Minister was recognised globally. [8] This event highlighted Adham‘s overconfidence, ineptitude, incompetence and a lack of attention to detail when fulfilling his ministerial duties, as there are less than 200 countries present in the world today.
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.[9] This was later corroborated by evidence from the official Facebook page of the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH)[10][11] which showed on 27 March, that the WHO videoconference in question almost reached 500 participants, one of which was the Crisis Preparedness & Response Centre (CPRC) of the MOH.[12]
Personal life
Maro 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)[13]
Pahang :
Sri Indera Mahkota Pahang (SIMP) – Dato’ Indera (2013)[14]
Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP) – Dato’ Sri (2016)[15]
Election results
| 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% | |||
| Year | Constituency | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | P155 Tenggara | 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% | ||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "Who is Dr Adham Baba, the health minister who will lead fight against Covid-19?". Malay Mail. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Dr Adham Baba terajui Kementerian Kesihatan". Astro Awani. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ "Health Minister's 'warm water method' to kill coronavirus questioned". The Star.
- ^ "Health Minister Claims Warm Water Can Kill Coronavirus Because It "Doesn't Like Heat"". Says.
- ^ "Health DG appears to disagree with Health Minister on Warm Water claim". The Rakyat Post.
- ^ "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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Fact-Checking Dr Adham Baba's Claim That PH Failed To Contain The Tabligh Cluster". Says.
- ^ "Health minister mocked over '500 countries' claim". The Malaysian Insight.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2003" (PDF).
- ^ "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2013" (PDF).
- ^ "Senarai Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan 2016" (PDF).
- ^ "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.
- ^ "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 31 March 2014 suggested (help) - ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.