Adham Baba

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 a Health Minister was recognised globally. Netizens on Twitter took notice and mocked Dr. Adham Baba for the "500 countries" claim.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 to the present. He has a private clinic called Klinik Adham Sdn Bhd with 18 branches.

Datuk Seri 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.

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.