PETALING JAYA: The government is urged to clarify if Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders could enrol for Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP).
Gerakan National President Dr Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai (pix) was referring to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent statement that the decision to recognise the UEC could only be made by the government and the recent decision taken by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) to recognise the UEC was only its opinion.
“This is confusing as it opposed an announcement by LPQB Chairman Tommy Thomas on March 29 who said that UEC qualifications at the Senior Middle 3 level could be accepted as meeting the STPM examination requirement to sit for the Certificate in Legal Practice Examination from 2021,” Lau said.
He also said that Mahathir’s statement opposed Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching who also allegedly said UEC holders could sit for CLP.
“Isn’t Teo a member of the government? Why she is oblivious to the fact that decision on CLP can only be made by the government?”
Lau said it is unreasonable for the LPQB to reject UEC holders to sit for CLP by citing refusal to recognise UEC.
“In the past, many UEC students enrolled in the local private university for a law degree and obtained the CLP. This proves that UEC holders are capable, but why is the government making things difficult for them?”
“The government should to allow UEC holders to sit for CLP in order to retain more legal talents in the country,“ he said.
