Jump in Number of Passes in Malaysia’s Bar Exam, CLP, in 2023
The number of full passes in the annual Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination has increased compared with last year, with 439 of the 1,297 candidates, or 34%, making the cut.
In addition, 229 candidates obtained a conditional pass, having failed only one of the five subjects. They have another three attempts to pass that subject.
This is the highest number of passes since 2020.
Last year, 310 of the 1,038 candidates, or 30%, passed the annual examination, allowing them to commence a nine-month pupillage period under a lawyer with not less than seven years in active practice, a prerequisite to being called to the bar.
In 2021, only 17% managed a full pass, while it was 25% a year before that.
However, critics of the certificate in legal practice exam say it must be replaced by a common exam to level the playing field for all law graduates.
Critics and the Bar Council have called for the CLP to be abolished and replaced with a new entrance exam that all law graduates must take.
Combining the numbers of the full and partial passes, the examination recorded a 48% failure rate, which is the lowest since 2020, according to the results released on Friday.
The high rate of failure in CLP examinations had been criticised by lawyers and groups over the years, with the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) being accused of imposing quotas, which it had vehemently denied.
Critics, along with the Bar Council, had suggested that a common qualifying entrance examination replace the “tough” CLP to level the playing field for all law graduates.
Law degree holders from private colleges locally and overseas need to pass the CLP exam, while graduates from public universities and a handful of foreign institutions are exempt.
Under the current regulations, candidates are only allowed to sit for the CLP four times within five years.
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