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Khairy and Adham to swap ministries under new cabinet
Published:  Aug 27, 2021 11:32 AM
Updated: 9:59 AM

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin is set to take over the Health Ministry, the entity that has largely led the charge against the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

He replaces Dr Adham Baba, who during his tenure was known for a series of gaffes.

His gaffes prompted the government to instead let Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah become the public face in communicating about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adham, who is the Tenggara MP, only started to take on a more public role towards the tail end of his tenure as health minister.

Adham will now take over Khairy's old portfolio - The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.

The previous government under Muhyiddin Yassin attempting to co-opt Khairy in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic had sometimes led to confusion.

This was because many aspects fell under the purview of the Health Ministry but were instead passed to the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), for example, questioned why the Covid-19 vaccination effort was placed under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry when it should have been under the Health Ministry.

It said this led to decisions that were not based on health considerations.

Khairy was assigned as the vaccination tsar as a separate portfolio in Muhyiddin's cabinet.

With his move to the Health Ministry, better coordination is expected for the vaccination efforts.

Khairy and Adham were among 10 ministers from the previous government to have been reshuffled into different portfolios.

The other ministers who were reshuffled were Hishammuddin Hussein (defence), Abdul Latiff Ahmad (PMD special functions), Saifuddin Abdullah (foreign affairs), Reezal Merican Naina Merican (housing and local government), Zuraida Kamaruddin (plantations and commodities), Annuar Musa (communications and multimedia), Takiyuddin Hassan (energy and natural resources) and Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (law).

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has given his cabinet 100 days to prove their effectiveness,

The ministers and their deputies will be sworn in on Monday.

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