PUTRAJAYA, March 16 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today any Cabinet member holding a new portfolio would require time to study the ministry and manage it well.

Commenting on women’s groups concerns with the Women and Family Ministry’s new appointments, Muhyiddin said he had briefed the newly-minted minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun about what to do to manage the ministry because she was new at the ministry.

"But it’s not that she is totally lack of experience. The new portfolio requires everyone to take more time to study,” he said, adding that he had also told Rina to work closely with her deputy Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff.

According to media reports, women’s rights groups had expressed their concerns over the appointment of Rina and Siti Zailah as the new minister and deputy minister mainly because their track records allegedly do not inspire confidence.

"What is important is not what her personal view is. What is important is what the government thinks about it and that she or whoever is in the ministry needs to understand,” Muhyiddin said at a news conference after chairing the Economic Action Council (EAC) meeting here.

"Bear with us; we will manage it,” he added. — Bernama