AMENDMENTS TO LEGAL PROFESSION ACT WILL BOOST PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN SABAH, SARAWAK LAWYERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- The proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act 1976 to include representation from Sabah and Sarawak on the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) will maintain public confidence in the competence and quality of lawyers in both states.

Sabah Law Society (SLS) president Datuk Mohamed Nazim Maduarin said those amendments would restore a measure of fairness and accountability to the system, ensuring that legal qualification decisions are made with both states’ interests in mind.

He said the amendments were a long-overdue step that finally acknowledges decisions made by the LPQB directly affect the standards, integrity and future of the legal profession in Sabah and Sarawak.

“This reform is not a favour to Sabah and Sarawak. It is a correction of a structural imbalance that should never have existed in the first place. While the LPQB does not govern the entire Malaysian legal profession, its decisions have a direct and significant impact on who may qualify for admission in Sabah and Sarawak.

“It is therefore indefensible that for decades, the Board could make decisions that shape the quality and composition of our Bars without the participation of the very jurisdictions affected by those decisions,” he said in a statement today.

For decades, Mohamed Nazim said, the entry routes into the Sabah Bar, whether through the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) or through law degrees from public universities have been shaped entirely by a board on which neither Sabah nor Sarawak had any representation.

He said the consequences have been real as they had to accept, amend or enforce qualification pathways without any opportunity to scrutinise or influence the standards behind them.

“The LPQB’s decisions affect not only who may enter practice in Sabah but also the quality and credibility of those who eventually serve the public as advocates,” he added.

Therefore, he urged that those amendments be passed without dilution and that the appointment of Sabah and Sarawak representatives must be made meaningfully with individuals who understand the unique realities and needs of legal practice in both states.

“We look forward to working constructively with the LPQB to strengthen the integrity of the qualification pathways, ensure transparency in recognition processes and uphold the standards necessary for a competent and ethical legal profession in Sabah,” he said.

-- BERNAMA