KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 ― Independent Chinese schools graduates seeking to sit for the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) will be required to pass at least two subjects at the A-level or STPM level starting from 2021.
The prerequisite is on top of existing conditions for holders of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) to qualify for the CLP, a mandatory examination for all who want to practise law in Malaysia.
The announcement was made on the website of the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB), a statutory body which decides on the qualifications required in order for a person to become a “qualified person” to become a lawyer in Malaysia.
A check of online search results indicates that the announcement was available on January 2 this year, but Malay Mail was not able to immediately verify if the document was available earlier.
In the announcement signed off as dated on June 5, 2018, students who are SPM graduates must score at least five credits in SPM and have two passes at STPM or its equivalent to sit for CLP from 2021 onwards, on top of having a recognised law degree.
Local daily Sin Chew Daily today reported Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching as saying that she had met with incumbent LPQB chairman Tommy Thomas, who is also the attorney-general, to discuss the matter regarding the UEC graduates.
According to the news report, Teo said LPQB will review the conditions for eligibility to take the CLP exams at its meeting in March.
The deputy minister reportedly said the decision to disallow having the UEC as being sufficient for those qualified to sit for the CLP was made by the former LPQB chairman before the May 9, 2018 elections.
Sin Chew Daily did not mention the name of the former LPQB chairman.
The then attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali was known to be its chairman during 2017 and 2018, although it is unclear when he stopped holding the post.
The May 2018 elections saw the Pakatan Harapan coalition coming in as the new federal government, after decades of administration under the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Sin Chew also reported Malaysian Bar president George Varughese saying the new rules are to take effect from 2021, and adding that LPQB has decided to discuss the matter in its upcoming March 8 board meeting.
According to LPQB's website, the board chaired by Thomas also comprises Varughese, Federal Court judge Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Court of Appeal judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof, Universiti Malaya law faculty dean Datuk Prof Johan Shamsuddin Sabaruddin. LPQB's secretary is the Chief Registrar at the Federal Court Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar.
Under its current listing of entry requirements for the CLP examination, the LPQB listed down the criteria if one holds a UK law degree; Australian and New Zealand law degree; and those who have a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (External) from Universiti Malaya or a Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
Under the criteria for a UK law degree holder, the current conditions are listed as a minimum three credits at SPM and a minimum of two principal passes at STPM, with the UEC listed as one of the equivalent qualifications to both SPM and STPM.
But the LPQB website also carried a note underneath to say that it had decided on September 23, 2005 to no longer recognise the UEC as equivalent to SPM and STPM for those applying to sit for the CLP examination, stating that a UEC holder also needs to have minimum three credits in SPM or two principal passes at STPM or A-level.
It is unclear if the rule in the note is already in place.
Last Friday, the chairman of Sarawak party SUPP's Dudong branch Wong Ching Yong reportedly highlighted the new CLP rules as now requiring A-level or STPM passes for UEC graduates as being allegedly unfair and discriminatory.
Wong had noted that the LPQB had in November 2017 announced that it would not recognise the UEC as a valid qualification for those who want to seek for CLP, but had in December 2017 dropped its decision to implement the 2005 decision that disallows UEC students without STPM or A-level qualification to sit for the CLP even if they have a recognised law degree.
Wong then said the LPQB had “quietly” introduced the new rule for UEC graduates on June 5, 2018 which he said caused many parents of UEC students to complain to his party branch, as many UEC holders still studying law at law schools locally or overseas would be unable to sit for the CLP after graduating.
Wong said not many Malaysians could afford the alternative of studying in the UK and sitting for the UK's Bar examination where tuition and accommodation fees could come up to RM200,000, while the CLP course and exam fee would only cost between RM4,000 to RM5,000.
“No professional association will pay attention to the applicants' secondary school results,” he was quoted saying by The Star when pointing out that entry globally into professions such as doctors, dentists, accounting, engineering or law are only based on results of applicants' undergraduate degrees.
Last November, the Malaysian Bar said it welcomed the legal affairs minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong's statement that the government is considering the possibility of replacing the CLP with a common bar course.
The Malaysian Bar had for over 20 years advocated the introduction of the CBC as a single entry point for all law graduates from both local and foreign institutions into the legal profession to raise its standards, arguing that the CLP in its current form does not sufficiently provide the necessary knowledge and practical skills for those seeking to be lawyers.
Most law graduates from local public universities where they study Malaysian law are exempt from taking the CLP, while graduates from foreign universities have to take the CLP in order to qualify to practise law in Malaysia.
