Thomas said that only UEC qualifiers at the Senior Middle 3 level would be accepted for the examination. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Students who hold the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) are now eligible to sit for the Certificate in Legal Practise Examination (CLPE), the Legal Profession Qualifying Board chairman Tommy Thomas announced today.

In a statement, Thomas, who is also the Attorney General (AG), said that this is however subject to several requirements which must be observed by applicants.

Thomas said that only UEC qualifiers at the Senior Middle 3 level would be accepted for the examination.

He added that they are required to have passes in at least two subjects in the UEC at Senior Middle 3, and must have also obtained at least five credits in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or ‘O’ Levels or its equivalent.

The candidates must also fulfill the said requirement in only one sitting of the examinations, he said.

“This requirement shall be applicable to all students registered for the LLB degree programme after the announcement on June 5, 2018, of the previous decision.

“In response to representations from numerous quarters, the Board conducted a review exercise which included obtaining information from several universities in the United Kingdom about their acceptance of the UEC as an entry qualification for their LLB (Hons) degree programme,” Thomas said.

He added that the Board had also obtained information from the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) on the standard of the UEC qualification and the status of its acceptance into university degree programmes.

Thomas said that at present, UEC holders keen on the CLPE must obtain at least three credits in SPM or the ‘O’ Levels in one sitting, or pass in at least two subjects in the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) certification or ‘A’ Levels, in one sitting.

Thomas added that all other requirements as listed in the ‘New Guidelines on the Qualifications And Requirements To Qualify To Sit For The Malaysian Certificate in Legal Practise (CLP) Examination (For Law Degrees from The United Kingdom’ and the ‘Guidelines on Qualifications and Requirements for Recognition of Holders of Australia and New Zealand Law Degrees’ to become ‘Qualified Persons’ under the Legal Profession Act 1976 will continue to be applied.

The Legal Profession Qualifying Board is a statutory body which decides on the qualifications required in order for a person to become a lawyer in Malaysia.