KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba today admitted that he misspoke with regard to the issue of 500 countries.
Much has been said about this following a live video conference he had with Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday.
During the call, Dr Adham said he had been in a tele-conference session with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and "500 countries".
Many on social media were quick to point out that the world only has 195 countries.
Today, in a reply message he wrote to a Netizen’s comment on the issue, Dr Adham admitted to his mistake.
The netizen "Ddiy Putra", in what read like sarcasm, asked Dr Adham to clarify how many countries were there in the world as a Google search did not return an answer of 500.
“Google is not wrong. Yes, I have incorrectly mentioned 500 countries, it was supposed to be 500 reprentatives from various countries.
“If I am wrong, you should help me to correct it, if you want to see the current government to lead this country to become better,” he said in his reply to the netizen.
A screenshot of this reply has gone viral with some praising Dr Adham for his honesty.
In the 25-minute video call titled “Hello Bersama Presiden Umno Malaysia”, the two leaders were seen discussing the Covid-19 pandemic, its impact on the country and the public.
It was during this video conference that Dr Adham mentioned "500 countries".
“I am confident that what I have done has been recognised by the world, Datuk Seri. I have had live video conferences with the World Health Organisation (WHO), 500 countries...,” he had said.