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]

Drinking warm water as a COVID-19 prevention

On 19 March 2020, Adham advised the public that drinking warm water will help prevent COVID-19 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 Organization (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 previous administration was not, by any chance involved in the handling of the pandemic in early 2020, and that the ministry should have remained neutral and apolitical.^[14]

"WHO conference call with 500 countries" statement

On 18 April 2020, Adham erroneously claimed that he participated in a World Health Organization (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.^[15] Netizens on Twitter took notice and mocked Dr. Adham Baba for the "500 countries" claim.^[16]

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.^[17] This was later corroborated by evidence from the official Facebook page of the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH)^[18] which showed on 27 March, that the WHO videoconference in question almost reached 500 participants (498^[19] 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.^[20]

Criticism by the predecessor

Dzulkefly Ahmad urged his successor Dr Adham Baba and the latter's two deputies to either take charge of the ministry's decision making or resign. He said many were confused by Noor Hisham's emphasis that he was just a 'messenger' and did not provide the scientific explanation behind the decision. He claimed that Malaysia had lost its political leadership. The country was running "almost automatically" since Muhyiddin's coalition overthrew the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020. He stressed that Adham, along with his deputies Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali and Aaron Ago Dagang, must work as a team with the bureaucrats and technocrats of the Ministry of Health. "You must see, do not be afraid to be criticized. And do not just try to be praised," he said. Dr Dzulkefly said that it was the government's choice to take many of the recommendations put forward by a group of experts in an open letter addressed to Muhyiddin. The proposal includes instructing COVID-19 patients with few or no symptoms to self-quarantine at home instead of having them admitted to a hospital. "We do not actually need to use emergency regulations to 'nationalize' facilities (private hospitals) to get access to them. The Ministry of Health can load the burden on our public hospitals," he said.^[21]

Spanish Fly gaffe

In a moment of Freudian slip on 12 July 2021, Dr Adham Baba mistakenly utters "Spanish fly" two times in reference to the Spanish Flu pandemic. In his statement, the "Spanish Fly" resulted in 1 million deaths from the years 1919 and 1916 but the COVID-19 pandemic was worse as it has resulted in 2.8 million deaths worldwide. Realising his error, he corrects "Spanish Fly" to "Spanish Virus".^[22] The correct estimated deaths from the 1918 pandemic was 20 - 50 million.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said it is unusual for a trained doctor not to know the difference between the dreaded Spanish Flu and a Spanish fly.^[23]