PUTRAJAYA (July 9): Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that 'members of the administration' such as politicians of ruling political parties and their political secretaries will soon be categorised as 'public officers'.

This includes the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, MPs of ruling political parties and their political secretaries, said the Prime Minister.

Speaking at a press conference today, he said this is a step forward to ensure they, too, are covered by the nation's laws against corrupt practices which would in time cover asset declaration and gift giving, among others.

"The government does intend to combat corruption [but] this is not an easy task because it occurs in many forms, and we need a law for each one," said Dr Mahathir after the Cabinet Select Committee on Anti-Corruption (JKKMAR) meeting earlier.

"The second JKKMAR sitting has proposed that several laws be established for specific cases of corruption, and the involvement of politicians and members of the administration [in the practice]," he said.

In April 2017, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak successfully struck out a lawsuit by Dr Mahathir after Malaysia's High Court ruled that cabinet members and political secretaries are not public officers.

It is understood that previously under the 'code of ethics' covering 'members of the administration', public officers comprise civil servants, police and armed forces, judicial and legal services, and educationists — but politicians were exempted from the list.

A government officer explained that moving forward, the code of ethics will be amended with the help of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) to make the above inclusion.

Dr Mahathir said today: "The court of law is not God. Its ruling can be changed. If a ruling is not keeping with current thinking, we can amend the law.

"So if before, the court says that the prime minister and the deputy [are] above the law, we can change it so they are within the law," he said.

"The code of ethics will be amended to include all these new categories," he added.

Dr Mahathir highlighted two practices closely related to the code, namely the declaration of assets, as well as the receiving of gifts by public officers.

He had previously said members of administration are required to declare their assets to the prime minister, and that the reports are shared with the relevant authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

A similar approach is proposed on the receiving of certain gifts valued at RM500-RM5,000 according to a recommendation paper sighted by the media.

"We provide leeway for if [they] receive gifts in the form of flowers, food and tokens of appreciation. But they must still be declared to the relevant authorities," Dr Mahathir said.

"These are the things that we have decided for 'members of administration' [who are also] exposed to corruption," he added.