Some pupils in Malaysia get paid as low as RM 500 per month. This was from a national survey that was conducted by the Bar back in 2019. Pupils are expected to dedicate and commit 9 months to full-time chambering but they are also prevented from having employment in any other capacity despite the low pay being offered by certain firms. 

Not only that, pupils are not recognised as employees. They have no entitlement to pay. They are not entitled to take leave. They have no overtime pay, EPF payments or maximum working hours. The protection for pupils here in Malaysia is at an absolute minimum. 

To make matters worse, the Bar issued a ruling to prevent contracts between pupil masters and pupils. This supports a system where pupils can be dismissed within the span of 24 hours with no need for notice or reason. These pupils, if they choose to continue their pupillage elsewhere, will have to obtain the signature of the pupil master that dismissed them for the purposes of their call. 

The Bar has been reluctant to take on a regulatory role for pupils without significant amendments to the Legal Profession Act 1976 and it seems that the current status of pupils will remain stagnant. 

There is a need to push for pupils to fall within the ambit of the Employment Act 1955, to put an end to the weaknesses of an archaic trainee system that has doubled as a cost-cutting and exploitative measure for law firms.