As a senior legal practitioner wherein I have trained and guided dozens of chambering students, I wish to comment on the so-called esteemed Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) which has recently been amended, without giving due consideration to deserving and genuine cases of aspiring students who have become victims of the sudden changes introduced.

It is unconscionable to disregard circumstances when aspiring candidates are compelled to skip the scheduled examination for various reasons as being medically incapacitated with tacit proof of unforeseen accidents or unfortunate medical mishap. Such punitive decisions will result in irreparable loss and deprivation where ideas, once set, take a set course without any means of appeal.

The CLP board must allow appeal in such deserving exceptional cases where the candidate can be granted a waiver of the rules and be entitled to another attempt. Needless to say the root cause of screening students before enrolling them for a law degree is secondary to the fact that after three to four years of study just put in restrictions for practicing. What a waste of effort and time, although it is totally supported by the Higher Education Ministry.

Doing law, as with medicine, requires a high percentage in the STPM exams. Now after making entry to a law degree lax, we condemn the successful law graduates with a ‘biased’ qualifying examination. This goes to show that the authorities are seemingly rigid and arrogantly uncompromising.

At least show some compassion and enforce the law for all students who graduated as from 2016. Don’t penalise the students who registered or reregistered prior to this by making it retrospective. Think of those students who have lost all hope. Don’t play a supremacist role by being judgmental about the shortcomings of those who fail.

Maybe the ones whom you all have dealt with were local grads and numerous other horrendous legal practitioners who don the legal gown and attire whilst their decorum and performance in Court is an embarrassment to those true and dedicated to the noble legal profession.

All that is required is to give some of those unfortunate deserving victims caught within this transition due consideration on merits.