PUTRAJAYA, March 9 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today expressed hope that those appointed into his Cabinet would be able to deliver the best and most efficient level of service to the people.

Muhyiddin said those appointed into ministerial positions were chosen to realise his vision of forming a Cabinet that is competent, people driven, transparent and with integrity, focused on delivering effective services, while maintaining a solid structure system.

"I will also make sure my Cabinet is a functional Cabinet while being able to deliver services which are more focused.

‘In short, I want to for a Cabinet that will truly be able to give their best service to the people — a Cabinet that delivers,” he said in a speech announcing the line-up here.

Muhyiddin explained that in order to achieve having functional Cabinet, he included a mix of characters among those named, which includes experience politicians, technocrats, and experts in their respective fields to provide the best possible input.

Among the notable points from his Cabinet announcement today is the absence of a deputy prime minister, who Muhyiddin said its functions would be handled by the appointment of four senior ministers handling four ministries.

The four portfolios are Education, National Unity, Environment, and the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs portfolio — the last one is parked under the Prime Minister’s Department.

Mohd Radzi Jidin was appointed Education Minister, Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique as the National Unity Minister, Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili as Minister in charge of Sabah and Sarawak Affairs, while Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was made Environmental Minister. 

Despite speculations that those from the old guard of Barisan Nasional and Umno would be among those named, Muhyiddin’s Cabinet list was notably missing Umno and PAS president’s Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Muhyiddin did not address the topic of excluding party heads from his Cabinet lineup specifically, but did stress that all those selected had passed criminal and graft screenings by authorities.

"To ensure the newly formed Cabinet is a Cabinet with integrity, all Cabinet members that I announce have gone through and passed screenings by SPRM and PDRM,” he said referring to the Malay acronyms of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Royal Malaysian Police.

"This shows that all ministers and deputy ministers who were selected are not currently involved in any corruption or criminal cases,” he added.

Muhyiddin also congratulated those selected as Cabinet members and deputy ministers, urging them to carry out their responsibilities diligently and efficiently for the people, while thanking party leaders for their advice and support.