Angered by the recent nullification of the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination, candidates who were affected today began organising themselves to send an appeal to the examination board.

Some 100 students gathered at a law firm in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon and consented to a lawyer's idea that he will convey their grievances to the Legal Profession Qualifying Board which had nullified the results of the July CLP and the October Supplementary Examination on Monday.

The decision by the board came about as it suspected leaks in both examination papers. This had sparked off strong protests from 232 candidates who had passed the examinations.

Following this, the candidates - some of whom have already started chambering and appearing in court - will have to re-sit the examinations early next year.

Several students told malaysiakini that they were briefed by the lawyer that legal action may be imminent if their appeal to the examination board is not entertained.

Soft approach first

"We will take a soft approach first but if it is necessary, we will even resort to legal action," said a student on condition of anonymity.

He said students who were present at the briefing today were also advised not to speak to the media for fear that "taking the case to court may be misconstrued as a threat to the exam board" and affect the success rate of negotiations with the board.

"But we merely want to set the record straight. They should not have penalised us just because a handful were involved in the leaks," he said.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that some students also had a meeting with lawyer Karpal Singh after the briefing session.

The examination board's decision to nullify the CLP and its supplementary test results came under fire from legal practitioners and opposition leaders who claimed that it was just a convenient way to escape from its responsibility at the expense of innocent students.

On Oct 29, the Malay Mail tabloid reported that leaks have occurred in the CLP examinations for the past four or five years.

Yesterday, some 40 students met with the examination board to find out more about the latest development.

Under investigation

Board chairperson Ainum Mohd Saaid, who is also the attorney-general, said the board will find ways to strengthen the security measures of future CLP examinations.

She told reporters that the leaks in this year's examinations were real and that a committee headed by board committee Mah Weng Kwai has been set up to investigate on the matter. Mah is also Malaysian Bar Council chairperson.

Ainum also said it was CLP examination director Khalid Yusof who oversees the preparation of the papers from its drafting to final printing but did not elaborate on the reason for stating that.

The CLP examination is compulsory for foreign law graduates from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand to qualify as advocates and solicitors in Malaysia.

Previous examinations have shown a passing rate of only about 30 percent. Some 900 students sat for this year's CLP examination.

The examination consists of five papers: General Paper, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Professional Practice.

Candidates are allowed to sit for the examination for up to four times in order to pass all the papers. If they fail any of these papers, they may take the supplementary tests.