The DAP today called for the immediate establishment of an independent audit to review the marking of the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) examination papers this year.

DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, urged for a 'revamp' of the entire executive staff responsible for the exam, including the dismissal of exam director Khalid Yusof, to restore public confidence.

Lim said that an independent audit by reputable professionals, whether in the academia or within the profession, must be established to review the marking of all the CLP exam papers this year.

This is to rectify any marks-tampering which resulted in students deserving to pass being deliberately failed by a syndicate merchandising leaked exam papers.

"The audit panel should be empowered to award passes to candidates who had been failed as a result of such marks-tampering," Lim said in a statement.

"The gross injustice of the leaked papers must not be compounded by the new injustice of penalising innocent, honest and hardworking candidates, as a result of the indiscriminate nullification of the CLP exam results this year."

He added that the whole conduct of the exam and the manner the Legal Profession Qualifying Board handled the exam papers scam after its expose, and disregard of the emotional trauma suffered by innocent candidates, "stinks to the high heavens and is a thorough discredit and disgrace to the professionalism, competence and sense of justice of the board members".

Last Monday, members of the board announced that the results of the July CLP exam and its October supplementary test were nullified because of suspected leaks.

Suspects arrested

In connection with the leaks, police have to-date identified six suspects who are to be charged in court, including a clerk working for the board.

Brickfields College principal, R Raja Singam, in a shocking revelation to the press yesterday said that the board knew of the leak in the October exam beforehand but still allowed it to proceed.

He added that on Oct 6, two days before the supplementary exam, he submitted copies of the Evidence paper he intercepted to Attorney-General Ainum Mohd Saaid, deputy public prosecutor Vong Poh Fah, Bukit Aman police, 10 senior lawyers and a local daily.

Raja Singam also told reporters that he submitted a report of the CLP exam leak to the board last year but was told to provide evidence that the leaks actually occurred.

Concern has arisen that deserving candidates had been victimised because of marks-tampering. There are claims that marks of those who should have been passed were lowered in order to "make way" for those who bought the papers.

Statistics show that only 25.19 percent or 232 of the total 921 candidates achieved clear passes in the exams, making it the lowest pass rate in the 17-year history of the CLP.