Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin is a stalwart of data, science and international standards. This was evident in his decisions and rollout strategies in handling a nation held hostage by a pandemic.

Post-Covid, Khairy continued on a mission to blitz through recovery pains as he took on a fast-changing world. In 2022, he gifted the country with important cultural conversations as he tabled policies that pack a punch.

In an unprecedented measure against one of the leading causes of death globally, he proposed to outlaw smoking and the sale of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to those who were born after 2007.

In that same month of July 2022, he made a progressive presentation to register cannabidiol (CBD) products, starting in 2023. Khairy, who concluded bilateral work with Thailand on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, had shared that cannabis had become more widespread internationally for palliative care, chronic pain management, and insomnia.