Here's What Pakatan Harapan Cabinet Ministers Said On Their First Day Of Work

In June 2017, data from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) disclosed that the federal debt then was at RM685.1 billion, as reported by New Straits Times.

However, according to Guan Eng, the number is much higher than what the previous government had disclosed. This is largely due to the fact that the MOF had been bailing 1MDB out of debts since April 2017. The total amount came up to around RM7 billion worth of payments made on behalf of 1MDB.

More payments are said to be due by the end of May and the upcoming months.

"These laws will be reviewed and, if necessary, replaced. It will need a bit of time, but not up to five years until the next general election," he told reporters, according to Bernama.

He also said they hope to improve the image of the Royal Malaysia Police and to establish an independent police complaints commission. 

"The issue of corruption and abuse of power as promised in the manifesto will also be dealt with. This issue is so hated by the people, so when the PH won and formed the government, this is a trust that we are obliged to see through," he added.

With a the establishment of a new committee headed by Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin hopes to also look into citizenship issues such as red identification cards, and so on.

"Media freedom is my priority," he told reporters. "The media churning out news and publishing companies are bound by the existing laws so we have to look at it that way and we have to find ways to improve the freedom of press in the country. And I am committed to doing so," the minister said.

In addition to that, he will work towards achieving broadband connections that are "double the speed, for half the price."

"If we look at broadband in other countries, the service provided differs greatly from what we (Malaysia) have, so there is no reason why we cannot emulate other systems from overseas,” he said on an RTM programme.

He will also look into five scandals related to the Ministry of Defence during Barisan National's rule and the purchase of several Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIV) at inflated prices.

According to MalaysiaKini, it was reported that the vehicles were bought at RM690,000 a unit, while Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had purchased them for only RM150,000 a unit.

He added that he will spend his first week listening to briefings from various parties of the Defence Ministry.

"If the management (of a unit) is already good, it has to be upgraded, but we will first discuss it with the generals in the armed forces or other stakeholders. We will do it on deliberation, I do not want to impose anything without discussions beforehand," he said.

It was reported that Azmin said the government can no longer practice direct negotiations and limited tenders. The lack of transparency and non-openness was what led to the almost RM1 trillion debt, he stated, according to MalaysiaKini.

"Most of the projects were off budget, not under or being part of the national budget," he added.

"There is no perfect Cabinet. There will always be defects. No matter who we choose, there are bound to be people who will express dissatisfaction. I know many people are not happy with my selection. But we cannot satisfy everybody," he said in a press conference.

"So we will try. If the performance is unsatisfactory, we will drop and choose someone else. But we have to give a chance to new people and we also have to take into consideration requests by the women," he added.