PROFICIENCY in both English and Malay is a must for local lawyers to match international standards, says M. Kulasegaran.
He said this is because most legal material, even in Malaysia, is in English.
Proficiency in the language would also enable local lawyers to take part in international arbitrations, Kulasegaran added.
“We need our lawyers to be on par with foreign lawyers who use the English language to engage in discussions about agreements and so on,” said the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform).
He was responding to Dr Abdul Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun), who had raised concerns that local lawyers who graduated from overseas institutions may lack proficiency in the Malay language.
To this, Kulasegaran said such concerns are unfounded, adding that based on his experience, such lawyers are proficient in Malay.
“Many of them are actually able to conduct cross-examinations effectively.
“Otherwise, clients would just not hire them for their cases as cross-examinations require them to be well-versed in the issues being debated.
“If someone is not fluent, I’m not sure they can be a lawyer who can go to court,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
He added that Malay is the mandatory language in our courts and that English is used only in specific situations.
On another matter, Kulasegaran said the government is looking to make annual audits mandatory for the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) over claims that it has not been audited for 17 years.He added that the new mandatory audit requirement would be part of planned amendments to the Legal Profession Act 1976.
The matter will be brought up to the Cabinet and, once approved, will be tabled as part of the amendments during the current Parliament meeting, he said.
“Once it is passed, the Auditor-General will be in charge of conducting mandatory audits of LPQB accounts every year.”
He also said the LPQB post of secretary in charge of arranging audits of its accounts had been left vacant for three years.
“We have since discussed with the board to have this position filled soon so that future audits can be carried more smoothly,” he added.
Kulasegaran also revealed that LPQB had recorded over RM10mil in operational costs and expenses for the past five years.
“This included payments for employee salaries, allowances, contributions to the Social Security Organisation and Employees Provident Fund.
“Other expenses are for matters like office rental, utility bills, insurance and lawyer fees.
“Another RM4mil was also spent to hold Certificate of Legal Practice examinations during the same period,” he added.
Kulasegaran was responding to a question from Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) who wanted to know about LPQB operational costs and whether they have been audited.
