Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to return the country's administration to its former glory. 

Speaking at his first monthly assembly at the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya today, Mahathir also lamented the decline in respect for the country, which was "once looked up upon as among the best in Commonwealth countries".

"I am disappointed because the administration, which was once (known) as the best in the Commonwealth countries for its ability to implement duties and plans successfully, is no longer respected and looked up upon."

The way to fix this is to clean up the wrongdoings of the previous administration with law enforcement, the Pakatan Harapan chairperson stressed. 

"We have found that many members of the executive might have taken bribes, done something bad and detrimental to the country, and huge funds had been misappropriated," he said.

Mahathir also lamented that the country's total debt had exceeded the RM1 trillion mark, as compared to only RM300 billion previously. 

He also called upon members of the executive branch to dare to reject any instruction if such order went against the law.

He noted that some officers might not be able to say 'no' to such an instruction, and went on to stress on the importance of separation of power as it would ensure a check-and-balance in the system.

The 93-year-old also urged the civil servants to work with the government in its effort to review various decisions made by the previous administration.

At the monthly assembly, the emcee no longer greeted the department staff at the assembly with the "1Malaysia" slogan, in line with Mahathir's directive to do away with the brainchild of his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

The "1Malaysia" theme song, which is usually played during the monthly assembly, was replaced by 'Keranamu Malaysia" and "Malaysia Tanah Airku".

The ban imposed upon certain media to cover official events at the Prime Minister's Department was also lifted. Malaysiakini and KiniTV were allowed to enter the department.