Malaysia’s Legal Board Blows RM515,000 On Six-Day UK “Study Trip” – MPs Question Why Not Do It Locally?
The controversy deepened when it was revealed that LPQB hasn’t been audited in 17 years despite being a statutory body.
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Malaysia’s Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) is facing serious heat after dropping a whopping RM515,125 on a six-day trip to the UK – all to “study how British law courses work.”
The eye-watering expense has left lawmakers scratching their heads and asking the obvious question: Why couldn’t they just do this research from home?
Jelutong MP RSN Rayer dropped this bombshell during Parliament, revealing that LPQB officials jetted off to Britain for what essentially amounts to an extremely expensive fact-finding mission about how law schools operate.
“The board has not been audited in 17 years. This audit is absolutely necessary, especially after it was revealed by (Law) Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said in the Senate that more than RM500,000 was spent on their overseas trip,” the DAP lawmaker said.
The timing couldn’t be worse.
LPQB – the body responsible for lawyer certification exams and professional qualifications – has been under scrutiny for years due to transparency issues and weak governance, having somehow avoided audits for nearly two decades.
“We Need Answers” – Deputy Minister Promises Investigation
Deputy Law and Institutional Reforms Minister M. Kulasegaran didn’t try to defend the indefensible.
Instead, he promised to demand written explanations from LPQB about why they needed to spend over half a million ringgit on what sounds like a costly tourism package.
“They went to the UK and met students there, which is good. But the lawyers asked, since 99 per cent of law students are here, why not conduct the discussions here instead of going to the UK?” Kulasegaran said, adding that he has received multiple complaints from lawyers questioning the necessity of the trip.
The deputy minister agreed with Rayer’s concerns and promised to get LPQB to provide a written explanation for their lavish spending spree.
The Plot Thickens: Student Money for Executive Jollies?
Here’s where it gets really juicy.
Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong raised the uncomfortable question of where exactly this money came from.
LPQB collects examination fees from aspiring lawyers – money that’s supposed to help young people pursue their legal dreams.
This money was meant to help young aspiring lawyers pursue their dreams and sit for exams. Yet, we see the number of successful candidates dropping every year, while fees are still collected and used to fund such trips.
Khoo has called for the matter to be referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and suggested a complete reshuffle of the board’s members.
17 Years Without an Audit – How Is This Even Legal?
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who initially raised this inquiry, expressed disbelief that a statutory body could operate in the shadows for so long.
“They are a statutory body — how can they be left unaudited for that long? They should have done it at least once every 10 years,” she said.
In August, Azalina revealed the trip was supposedly aimed at developing Malaysia’s own Common Bar Course (think of it as a “boot camp” that all law graduates would need to complete before they can practice as lawyers in Malaysia).
The RM515,125 covered:
- Flight tickets
- Accommodation
- Vehicle rentals in London
- Per diem allowances for delegates
- Meals during a “public dialogue session”
- Souvenirs
In an era where you can attend Harvard Law lectures online for free, LPQB somehow convinced itself that it needed to spend over half a million ringgit to physically travel to the UK to understand how law courses work.
For an organisation that’s supposed to uphold legal standards, LPQB seems to have some serious explaining to do about its own standards of financial management and basic accountability.
The investigation continues, but one thing’s certain: this expensive British adventure has become LPQB’s worst nightmare – and taxpayers’ latest reason to demand real reform.
Parts of this story have been sourced from NST.
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