Audit to be conducted on legal profession qualification board after 17 years

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), M. Kulasegaran, said the matter is currently under review by the government, and follow-up actions will be taken in line with the government's commitment to strengthening governance practices.

"I acknowledge that no audit has been carried out on the Legal Profession Qualification Board for 17 years. This issue was brought to light in response to a question raised in the Special Chamber last week, and it was the first time we were made aware of the lack of an audit.

"We are now taking immediate action to ensure that an audit is conducted as soon as possible, so that all stakeholders can be informed about the operations of the Board and whether its management is in compliance with the law," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Kulasegaran was responding to a supplementary question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah), who inquired about the reasons for the Board's failure to undergo audits and whether it had received any tax exemptions from the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN).

Kulasegaran said it is understood LHDN has not imposed taxes on the Legal Profession Qualification Board, however, there are issues that need to be discussed thoroughly with the relevant parties.

In response to Cha's original question on the amount received from candidates for the 2024 Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) exam, he reported that, as of Sept 30, the Board had collected RM4.26 million. This sum includes processing fees for exam applications, registration fees, new candidate exam fees, and repeat exam fees.

Regarding the Board's expenditure for 2024, Kulasegaran revealed that RM543,226.95 had been spent on various CLP-related costs up until Sept 30.

"These expenses do not include the rental and management costs of examination halls, which are estimated at over RM51,000 and remain unpaid, nor the costs associated with the Additional CLP exam scheduled for Nov 12.

"The Board also covers other operational expenses, including employee salaries, contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), office rental, the CLP graduation ceremony, and other related costs," he added.

-- BERNAMA