KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): The government has no plans to abolish the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination, stated Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M Kulasegaran in the Dewan Negara on Monday.

He explained that efforts are instead being made to improve the CLP examination by considering the introduction of a Common Bar Course (CBC) or Common Bar Examination (CBE), which would be more comprehensive and aligned with international legal examinations, similar to the Bar Training Courses in the UK.

"In this regard, the Legal Profession Qualifying Board has established a committee to study the implementation of the CBC or CBE.

"Aspects under review include the syllabus content, curriculum, assessment methods, teaching staff, administration, and management, as well as the financial requirements," he said during a question-and-answer session in Parliament. 

Kulasegaran added that consultation sessions with stakeholders are ongoing to resolve all arising issues. 

"The feedback from stakeholders will be reviewed by the established committee before the final study results on the implementation of the CBC or CBE are submitted to the Legal Profession Qualifying Board," he said. 

He was responding to a question from Senator Datuk A Kesavadas, who inquired whether the government plans to abolish the CLP examination and the measures taken by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board to ensure the examination is conducted transparently.

In response to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Salehuddin Saidin about rumours regarding a government policy to determine the pass and fail quotas for CLP students, Kulasegaran stated that there are no such quotas, labelling such claims as baseless.

"We are currently improving the process to be more transparent through open consultations. This includes meetings with public and private universities and engaging with as many students taking the examination as possible.

"There are no quotas, and all eligible candidates are entitled to register and sit for the examination," he emphasised. 

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