No obvious signs of financial abuse by LPQB so far, says Kula

No obvious signs of financial abuse by LPQB so far, says Kula

 

KUALA LUMPUR: There are no prima facie signs of financial misuse or abuse of power in the financial affairs of the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB), deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran said.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Kulasegaran acknowledged that LPQB’s accounts had not been audited for 18 years.

“However, on a prima facie basis, there is no evidence of misuse or abuse of power in the finances, and this must be understood.

“Nevertheless, the auditor-general will conduct a comprehensive audit, and any actual findings will be made public in the interest of transparency,” he said in response to Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) on the status of LPQB’s audited accounts from 2007 to 2025 and when the audit report would be tabled in Parliament.

Kulasegaran said the national audit department began its audit of LPQB’s financial statements for 2008 to 2018 today, after the board had submitted the overdue accounts in stages.

He said LPQB engaged an accounting firm to prepare its financial statements from 2008 to 2025, covering 18 years, which were submitted to the audit department in phases for review and auditing.

The board submitted the financial statements for 2008 to 2012 on Oct 30 last year, prepared under the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards, but the department on Dec 2 directed that they be re-prepared in the format required for statutory bodies.

“Following this, the board took action to re-prepare the financial statements according to the prescribed format and resubmitted them to the audit department on Jan 16 this year,” Kulasegaran said.

Financial statements for 2013 to 2025 are still being prepared and will be submitted once approved, he added.

“Based on initial feedback, the audit findings are expected to be reported in the Auditor-General’s Report, which will be tabled in Parliament in 2027,” the deputy minister said.

In 2024, it was revealed that LPQB had not been audited for 17 years, with RM20.5 million spent on its operational costs over the past seven years.

The board, headed by the attorney-general, oversees the Certificate in Legal Practice examination and collects revenue mainly from examination candidates’ fees.

In response to a supplementary question from Abd Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun) on why LPQB was allowed to continue operating despite known deficiencies, Kulasegaran said the issue only attracted serious attention after repeated questions were raised in Parliament.

“The delay happened because certain matters were overlooked or not brought to the board,” he said, adding that follow-up action could be taken under existing laws if negligence or wrongdoing was established.

He said the government chose a corrective approach rather than to abolish the board, and that legal amendments were made in 2024 and implemented last year to address weaknesses and ensure that the audit process is carried out.

Source: FMT