BAC Students Emerge Tops in CLP

THE Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) is a tough cookie to chew.

But that did not stop three Brickfields Asia College students from coming up tops in the country last year.

Sharifah Dalilah Albar, 24, Jade Yap Wei-Li, 25 and Liew Hing Yi, 22, mastered the art of studying for their CLP with the help of comprehensive lecture notes and 24 hours guidance from lecturers at the college.

“Our lecturer Raja Singham was really available round the clock. I used to SMS him late in the night just for some advice when studying,” says Liew.

“He was always available to answer questions and would even hold extra lecturers to make us understand better.

“When we enrolled, our schedules said three days of classes, but as weeks went by, we ended up coming to college every single day for extra tutoring and lecturers. This was great because it shows that the lecturers here are committed towards our excellence rather than just our recruitment into the programme,” Liew added.

CLP is compulsory for any law graduate from recognised institutions if he or she wants to go into practice in Malaysia.

But many don’t even opt to continue with their CLP as it is a very challenging examination.

Its emphasis is more practice and procedural and therefore helps prepare the student for the real legal environment.

“The college was recommended to me as it offered the best notes,” says Sharifah.

“And it was true. I hardly had to take down any notes of my own, and studying would be a breeze because everything was right in front me.

“At times, when I felt it was too heavy, or after a long period of studying, I would treat myself to some television programmes just to de-stress,” she adds.

Students like Sharifah, Yap and Liew, who have secured law degrees in the UK or Australia, find the CLP interesting since it involves studying local cases – high or low profile as well as controversial and analysing them.

Those who do not meet the criteria of the board or are uncertain if they can qualify for the examination can also seek help from Brickfields Asia College.

“Everyone is exceptionally helpful at the college,” says Yap.

“The CLP is not an easy examination to go through. The lecturers at the college understand this, and as hard as you are at it, they fight even harder to get you on the right path towards passing your exams.

“They are constantly feeding you with more information, and they make sure you have gone through final year papers for better knowledge on what to expect,” adds Yap.

Brickfields Asia College has a good track record in the CLP examination, as they have churned out more than 5,000 graduates since their inception in 1991.

“We take pride that last year, 88 per cent of those who passed their CLP were from Brickfields Asia College,” says Raja Singham.

“While waiting for their applications to be processed, the student should not waste time but start studying for the CLP course.”

Raja Singham, who heads the team of three lecturers for the examination, lectures on evidence, general paper and land law for the professional practice paper.

In the event a candidate fails one paper, he obtains a conditional pass and needs to re-sit the paper.

If he fails two or more papers, he will have to re-sit the whole examination.

Four attempts are allowed or a four-year period, whichever is sooner.

“But at Brickfields Asia College, there should not be a problem in passing.

“We are dedicated in what we do and as long as the student is committed to achieving good results, we will stand by them throughout the study process,” adds Raja.

Apart from full-time courses, Brickfields Asia College also offers part time, weekend and repeaters options.

It also offers a distance learning programme for the CLP examinations.

For more information, visit www.bac.edu.my or call 03-22744165.

(c) 2008 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.