PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will be one of the world's safest countries, said Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) on his first day at work.

Speaking at a press conference after a two-hour meeting with department heads on Tuesday (May 22), Muhyiddin said that various aspects of the country's security must be improved.

"I told the leadership of all agencies and departments under the ministry that they must have new benchmarks in terms of their services.

"They must find ways to ensure the best services for the people while making the country safer," he said.

Muhyiddin said that one of the ways to do this is with more engagement between the public and police in combating and preventing crime, as such tasks are not the sole responsibility of the security forces.

"We can also follow the examples of other countries in terms of successful usage of technology and human resources to ensure public safety," he said adding that, issues of corruption and abuse of power must be tackled as well.

He said that one of his top priorities is to review existing laws, including the Printing and Presses Act 1984, Prevention of Crime Act and the mandatory death sentence.

"We will study such existing laws first before deciding whether to repeal or amend them," said Muhyiddin.

We are doing it for the people, thus we must engage with civil society before making any decision as well," he added.

Asked whether the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) will still be retained, Muhyiddin said the security outfit is still important.

"As long as there are still threats there, we will retain Esscom," he said.