Dr Adham Baba Says He Wasn't Playing Golf Amidst The Alarming Increase In COVID-19 Cases
According to the Health Minister, he is "not good at playing golf" and was, in fact, conducting a COVID-19 briefing in Putrajaya when the slanderous allegations about him playing golf in Johor surfaced on social media.
By Sadho Ram — 04 Oct 2020, 02:02 AM — Updated about 4 years ago
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba claims that contrary to allegations on social media about him playing golf amidst the pandemic, he was busy with work and meetings concerning COVID-19
In a report by Harian Metro on Saturday, 3 October, Dr Adham said he "vehemently" denies the allegations that he played golf on Friday, 2 October, when 287 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in a day.
"Slander like this is aimed at tarnishing my name," the Health Minister told Harian Metro.
He stressed that throughout the day on Friday he was at the Ministry of Health (MOH) chairing meetings.
"I was in Putrajaya to conduct a briefing on COVID-19. After that, I attended a meeting by the training division of the ministry to train MOH staff," Utusan Online quoted him as saying.
"At three in the afternoon, I chaired the mental health advisory council because during these trying times many are affected and even this morning I made preparations regarding COVID-19," he added.
According to him, he was busy from 7.45am to 7pm on Friday in Putrajaya, so he couldn't have been in Johor the same day to play golf, something that, he said, he is not even good at.
He said that allegations made it seem like he was 'missing' from work
In an emailed statement to SAYS, Twitter user Benedict Sun said that at the time, on the night of 2 October, when he created and tweeted the satirical poster, he was not aware of Dr Adham's scheduled event.
"The purpose of the tweet was to send a message to the minister that the people have not felt his presence since he was sworn-in. In other words, I'm saying that he's 'missing from work' since he took office," he said.
According to the Health Minister, it was a misunderstanding
Dr Adham said that the allegations on social media were likely triggered due to a misunderstanding from his name being listed for lunch at the hotel, Lotus Desaru Beach Resort in Johor, for Sunday, 4 October.
"What happened is a misunderstanding because my name is listed for lunch," he said.
According to the Health Minister, he is scheduled to appear at Lotus Desaru Beach Resort today to officiate a meeting with the leaders of the Communication for Behavioral Impact (COMBI), not to play golf.
Meanwhile, yesterday, 317 new COVID-19 cases were recorded
This is the first time the country has recorded more than 300 cases in a day.
All the 317 COVID-19 cases recorded yesterday were local transmission.
Of which, 303 are Malaysians, while the remaining 14 were foreigners.
According to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Sabah and Kedah recorded the highest new confirmed cases with 155 and 102, respectively.
Meanwhile, Selangor recorded 32 cases and Terengganu recorded nine.
Four cases each in Kuala Lumpur and Johor, three cases each in Pulau Pinang and Sarawak, two cases each in Kelantan and Putrajaya and one case in Negeri Sembilan.
Keep practising physical distancing and wash your hands often. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:
Yesterday, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob offered clarity over the people who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Sabah:
