CLP Scandulous

CLP

Witness: I paid for CLP papers

A businessman who thrice failed the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) examination gave RM13,000 and two handphones to “buy” the CLP question paper and passed the test in 2001, a Sessions Court heard.

Goh Poh Teong, 45, said he failed on three occasions after obtaining his law degree in 1996. He said he passed the examination held on July 25, 2001, after getting the question paper from a man called Encik Ramli a day before the examination.

Goh is the seventh prosecution witness in the trial of Ramli Md Mokhtar, 30, who is charged with breach of trust in connection with the draft question paper of the CLP supplementary examination.

Goh said he met Ramli on July 24, 2001, when he went to the CLP Board office. There, Ramli told him that he had the CLP draft question paper and asked him to buy a mobile telephone and to meet him at the car park near the CLP Board office in the evening. Goh said he complied with the request and Ramli handed him the question paper and four sets of blank answer papers. Goh returned the papers to Ramli on July 26, 2001, when they met at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre in Selangor. He said Ramli told him that all the documents were worth RM15,000 and he agreed to pay the money. He said he also gave Ramli another handphone in August when he asked for a second one. He said Ramli then contacted him on Oct 2, 2001, and when they met in Subang Jaya, Ramli handed him five sets of CLP draft papers for the October 2001 examination along with a list of candidates and phone numbers. Goh said Ramli told him to sell the papers to the candidates.

COMMENTS

Over the years, we have heard about 'buying' CLP. One of this is buying CLP question papers. Another is buying CLP results. Those who did not Kau Tim, failed the CLP exam; those who Kau Tim, passed and are advocates, solicitors, maybe, some are made judges.

The Hypothesis:

Many CLP candidates who did not Kau Tim, had failed the CLP exam. These group of LLB graduates could consist of competent law professionals but will not be advocate and solicitors. There are those who Kau Tim, and are currently practising lawyers. They may be incompetent lawyers, but they are accredited practising lawyers and some may have been made judges or magistrate. So, what judicial system do we have?

With this information coming to public knowledge, we can ponder at our judicial system and the competency of lawyers.

Is there any solution? How are we going to know who are those that had bought their CLP and had become solicitors, advocates or judges? Has any of these become Federal Court Judges, or Lord President or Chief Justices?

Should the judicial system revert back to the Privy Council of UK as the court of last resort?

Anyway, we have to consider the case above as isolated and is the ONLY one that had existed so far, we strongly believed (in pretention).....boleh, Malaysia boleh lagi!

What about medical doctors? Did anyone bought them - MBBS?