I REFER to the report “Law graduates stranded as Covid-19 wreaks havoc on CLP exam dates”.

It is instructive to read the comments and observations made by the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) examiners, which the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) has agreed with. The summary of the comments and observation, which candidates and the public can have access to, are as follow, among others:

“The CLP examination, being a professional examination and the entry point into the legal profession, requires the candidates that take the examination to be tested and undergo a more stringent process to ensure that the successful candidates it produces are of high standard worthy of the profession.

“The comments made each and every time after a CLP examination are similar or if not the same. The common comments being, the answers afforded by the students are not befitting a law graduate who has attained qualifying degree; clueless answer given; answers afforded are of a similar pattern which leads to a conclusion that they merely regurgitate or parrot what they have been told by their lecturers even if it is wrong in substance; total reliance on model answer to past year questions, which are topics driven; the private educators for the CLP examination subject content is not doing it right when imparting to the student etc.”

Now, if a face to face examination could elicit such comments, imagine an online examination. 

Let’s not lose sight of how the CLP came into existence in 1984. It was through the “generous decision of the Qualifying Board”, established under section 4 of the Legal Profession Act, to try to alleviate the plight of Malaysian students who had been hoping to take the Bar examinations in London to qualify them for eventual admission to practice in Malaysia but were stranded by a decision of the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar in London then.

The decision was a “rescue operation” for such students by offering the CLP as a special course  which would enable them to become “qualified persons” and so proceed to pupillage and practice in Malaysia.

It is the duty of the LPQB to provide for the examination of CLP candidates and make rules and do all things which are necessary and incidental in order to carry out the duty.

It is in the interest of the legal profession and the public at large that the high standards worthy of the profession are maintained.

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on everyday life and on everyone, not only CLP candidates. It shall not be allowed to do the same on the integrity of an examination which is the entry point into the legal profession.

The LPQB has rightly considered the rescheduling of the CLP examinations to March 2021. – October 27, 2020.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.