Saturday, May 6, 2023

NSW LPAB Executive Officer Siew Ting Tan McKeogh annual report non-disclosure issues one more thing that Department Of Justice head Michael Tidball must resolve

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 



R-L: Susan (Bastick) Carter Director, Law Extension Committee (LEC) at University of Sydney with Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC Governor of New South Wales and Siew McKeogh, Executive Officer of the LPAB. The LPAB oversees the LEC's Diploma in Law as it does the College Of Law. These associations have resulted in a wagon fort like protection of one another, to the point where statutory reporting obligations are being ignored, to the detriment of students and the legal profession in NSW.



The following was posted on a related blog on 12 April 2023:


NSW LPAB Executive Officer Siew Ting Tan McKeogh failed to disclose resignation and sudden departure of NSW Department Of Justice & LPAB officer Hayley Pollock, author of the document investigated by The Australian


The above adds to the non-disclosure issues that Michael Tidball, Secretary, Department Of Justice NSW must resolve. Tidball has survived the change in government and remains in the position. 





TO BE READ WITH 


Michael Tidball's Dept Of Justice NSW & its NSW LPAB breached NSW Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Regulations, other rules, by their failure to report investigation and expose by The Australian



July 25, 2022

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 



The NSW Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Regulations requires that agencies include information about the extent and main features of consumer complaints in their Annual reporting.  Page 19 of the NSW LPAB’s 2017-2018 Annual Report includes a section titled “Consumer response” on page 19. This section mentions seven items of feedback, three of which were complaints but  none refer to the NSW LPAB's response to  complaints made to it against the College Of Law Ltd and its conduct of the PLT course. The NSW LPAB has ongoing duties to oversee and accredit the College Of Law's PLT course. The College relies on the NSW LPAB for its AUD 50 Million per annum FEE HELP financed revenue.

The complaints were raised by this writer in the 2017-2018 financial year. The issue spilled over into the 2018-2019 financial year, and became subject of an investigation by The Australian, which reported the issue on 17 January 2019.

That investigation and the story in The Australian have also been excluded from the NSW Department Of Justice and NSW LPAB annual reports. The story in The Australian includes reference to the NSW LPAB's response to issues concerning the College Of Law.



TO BE READ WITH 



End of financial year raises issues for Michael Tidball, the new Secretary , Department Of Justice NSW, which arise from his past position as CEO, NSW Law Society




July 03, 2022

 






by Ganesh Sahathevan 


Michael Tidball

Michael Tidball,the recently appointed Secretary, Department Of Communities And Justice, faces his first end of financial year in that position.  He inherits the problems in the NSW LPAB and Department of Justice's past annual reports, but unlike his predecessors, he would have personal knowledge of the problems.

That is a result of his past position as CEO, NSW Law Society, where Tidball was made aware, and did not act on information about the NSW Law Society's College Of Law Ltd's conduct in Malaysia, and mishandling of the Professional Legal Training course.

These issues were brought to the attention of the NSW LPAB, which also chose to exclude those issues, and the action taken, in its 2018-2019 and subsequent annual reports. The NSW LPAB is part of the NSW Department Of Justice, and hence the Department's annual reports are also affected. 

TO BE READ WITH 


by Ganesh Sahathevan


The departure of the Legal Profession Admission Board's Executive Officer, Louise Pritchard, was reported nationally  in The Australian, 17 January 2019:



The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.

Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.

Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.



Mr Bathurst's problems of governance at the LPAB are not limited to the departure of his Executive Officer.
Her replacement, Tan Siew Ting McKeogh has brought additional problems. As reported,  the appointment of Tan Siew Ting McKeogh as Executive Officer LPAB adds to governance ,reporting issues at the LPAB, Department of Justice.


Compounding all of the above is the fact that Mr Bathurst and his LPAB continue to defend the College Of Law Sydney's management of the PLT programme, despite historical and ongoing complaints about its delivery and substance.

As a result of the inaction the College continues to receive some AUD 40-50 Million in Commonwealth Government FEE HELP funding, without which it is unlikely to survive. 



END 



AND




Bizarre blog claims used to deny man right to practise law
                 Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.

EXCLUSIVE



The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.

Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.

Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
Posted 14th August 2019 by 



Thursday, May 4, 2023

Australia a  civilisational  state with a  65,000 year Stone Age Aboriginal history, the progenitor of all other cultures in this region - Latest Australian foreign affairs initiative likely to impress neighbours as much as its values based LGBTIQ+ diplomacy 

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 


                                   Aboriginal leader Pat Dodson and Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Australia's new  foreign affairs policy holds that its Aboriginals are its first diplomats, having established ties throughout this region. Underlying the policy is the claim that Aboriginals are the world's oldest living culture, with a 65,000 year Stone Age  history. That Aboriginals have not moved beyond the Stone Age has  not however  prevented the Australian Government from making the claim that its Aboriginal are the world's oldest astronomers, as they are in other  areas of scientific endeavour. 

Given that no other country in this region makes that claim, it follows that Australian Aboriginal culture must be the progenitor of all other cultures in this region. 
 It does seem as if the Australian Government is attempting to assert superiority over all others by giving itself the veneer of a   civilisational  state, but that is  likely to impress its  neighbours as much as its values based LGBTIQ+ diplomacy .  The region has Indian, Chinese and Arab influences going back thousands of tears; its people will not accept some Sone Age culture to be part of it. 

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Federation Of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)'s ESG training partner may have governance issues in Australia, and Malaysia

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 


The regulatory and governance issues surrounding  Australia's College Of Law Ltd's  past and present attempts to break into the Malaysian market persist for its management led by CEO Neville Carter continue to remain silent.

As reported earlier on this blog: 

Existence of "College of Law Asia" remains a mystery - "College Of Law Asia" ceased operations in Malaysia suddenly and without explanation in 2019; College has entered into new JV with FMM Institute, under the patronage of Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Justin Lee, but not reflected anywhere in parent company College Of Law's books


The accounting issues raise further (and continuing) questions about the legality of the College Of Law Ltd and  College Of Law Asia's business in Malaysia. A foreign company carrying on business in Malaysia must be registered  as a foreign company with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM). Given the seeming non-existence of the College Of Law Asia it is hard to see how it might be registered with the CCM .


As previously reported, the College Of Law Asa  conducted business in Malaysia without being incorporated in Malaysia (or anywhere else), before it disappeared in mid 2019.


The College intends to offer training in ESG. The fact that "G" in that acronym means governance seems to be lost on the College and its management.


TO BE READ WITH 



Friday, April 14, 2023

Australia's "College Of Law Asia" conducted business in Malaysia without being incorporated in Malaysia (or anywhere else), before it disappeared in mid 2019 - "College Of Law Asia" is attempting to re-enter the Malaysian market with the assistance of FMM; previous failed venture with Bar Council Malaysia remains a mystery

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                                                              

                                           College Of Law CEO Neville Carter


It has been previously reported that  Australia's College Of Law is attempting  to re-enter the  Malaysian market with the assistance of FMM but meanwhile the closure of its office in Malaysia in 2019 remains unexplained and false claims about its contribution to Malaysian legal practise persist.



On that previous failed attempt "College Of Law Asia" and its parent College Of Law Ltd attempted to carry  on a business in Malaysia in defiance of Malaysia's laws which require that a branch or subsidiary be incorporated in Malaysia.


Questions about that apparent illegality and other matters addressed to their director in Malaysia, Peter Tritt, by this writer, remain unanswered. Tritt closed shop and left Malaysia following his refusal to answer without any explanation. 


To Be Read With 



Sunday, June 21, 2020

College Of Law documents show how College operates in Malaysia without a corporate structure ; JV with Bar Council the primary responsibility of then president, now judicial commissioner George Varghese

by Ganesh Sahathevan







(See diagram above-click to enlarge).
The College Of Law-Bar Council JV was entered into when YA George Varghese (photo above) was  chairman of the Bar Council . He refused to answer queries about the JV and about claims made by the College about its contributions to  legal education in Malaysia, going back to the 1980s. Those claims have been refuted by UiTM, and the Federal Court Registry.



TO BE READ WITH 





Bar Council education ‘JV’ must be clarified

By  , in Scandal on July 19, 2019 . Tagged width:  ,  , 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 – The Malaysian Bar Council launched its first education venture, a LLM in Malaysian Legal Practise (LLM), last year in collaboration with the College Of Law Australia.
The LLM does not seem to have the approval of Malaysia’s Legal Professional Qualifying Board (LPQB) but the website for the course, which is hosted in Australia, prominently displays the Bar Council crest.
bar council
The crest has not been used before to promote a course of study, and queries put to Bar Council President Fareed Gafoor about the use of the crest have been acknowledged but remain unanswered.
NMT has however sighted an email from Fareed dated Friday, May 24, 2019 with regards the LLM and the use of the crest where he states:
Dear Rajen,
We can’t remain silent on this.
Abdul Fareed Bin Abdul Gafoor
Sent from my iPad
It is understood that “Rajen” refers to  Rajen Devaraj, Chief Executive Officer of the Bar Council Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur.
The Bar has remained silent for nearly 2 months since.
Key person suddenly retired during extensive query
The College of Law used to be represented in Malaysia by its Director, Peter Tritt. Tritt have been queried extensively about the LLM and about the College’s business in Malaysia but has refused to provide answers. Tritt has been based in Kuala Lumpur since 2017 but announced on Friday that he had “retired” from the College on 30 June 2019.
It is understood that Tritt has forwarded queries sent him to his head office in Sydney and hence it appears that Tritt is under orders from his Chief Executive, Neville Carter, to remain silent.
Questionable advertising claims?
In advertising on the College’s website Carter has claimed that he had established a Professional Legal Training course for Malaysian Law students seeking admission to practise in Malaysia. There seems to be no evidence of such a course, or of any national level training course for the existing Certificate of Legal Practise.
Carter has also claimed to have produced the “inaugural” Handbook in Legal Practise for Malaysia, in the late 80s. A search of the main law libraries in Malaysia directed by the Chief Registrar, Federal Court Malaysia, has not found any such handbook.
He has also claimed to have, during that time to have identified and addressed “gaps” in Malaysian legal practise, but not even those in practice during that period and since have ever heard of him. Nor are senior practitioners aware of  “gaps” that needed that to be addressed by external consultants.
As CEO of the College Carter  has ultimate responsibility for the College’s Malaysian operation headed by Tritt and variously named the “College Of Law Asia Pacific” and the “College Of Law Asia”. A search by NMT has not revealed any entities registered under those names in Malaysia or in Australia, not even a foreign entities registered to conduct business in Malaysia.
Meanwhile the College, in collaboration with the Bar Council continues to sell its LLM and other courses in Malaysia, deriving a fee income from Malaysian courses.
-NMT








Sunday, June 21, 2020

College Of Law documents show how College operates in Malaysia without a corporate structure ; JV with Bar Council the primary responsibility of then president, now judicial commissioner George Varghese

by Ganesh Sahathevan







(See diagram above-click to enlarge).
The College Of Law-Bar Council JV was entered into when YA George Varghese (photo above) was  chairman of the Bar Council . He refused to answer queries about the JV and about claims made by the College about its contributions to  legal education in Malaysia, going back to the 1980s. Those claims have been refuted by UiTM, and the Federal Court Registry.



TO BE READ WITH 





Bar Council education ‘JV’ must be clarified

By  , in Scandal on July 19, 2019 . Tagged width:  ,  , 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 – The Malaysian Bar Council launched its first education venture, a LLM in Malaysian Legal Practise (LLM), last year in collaboration with the College Of Law Australia.
The LLM does not seem to have the approval of Malaysia’s Legal Professional Qualifying Board (LPQB) but the website for the course, which is hosted in Australia, prominently displays the Bar Council crest.
bar council
The crest has not been used before to promote a course of study, and queries put to Bar Council President Fareed Gafoor about the use of the crest have been acknowledged but remain unanswered.
NMT has however sighted an email from Fareed dated Friday, May 24, 2019 with regards the LLM and the use of the crest where he states:
Dear Rajen,
We can’t remain silent on this.
Abdul Fareed Bin Abdul Gafoor
Sent from my iPad
It is understood that “Rajen” refers to  Rajen Devaraj, Chief Executive Officer of the Bar Council Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur.
The Bar has remained silent for nearly 2 months since.
Key person suddenly retired during extensive query
The College of Law used to be represented in Malaysia by its Director, Peter Tritt. Tritt have been queried extensively about the LLM and about the College’s business in Malaysia but has refused to provide answers. Tritt has been based in Kuala Lumpur since 2017 but announced on Friday that he had “retired” from the College on 30 June 2019.
It is understood that Tritt has forwarded queries sent him to his head office in Sydney and hence it appears that Tritt is under orders from his Chief Executive, Neville Carter, to remain silent.
Questionable advertising claims?
In advertising on the College’s website Carter has claimed that he had established a Professional Legal Training course for Malaysian Law students seeking admission to practise in Malaysia. There seems to be no evidence of such a course, or of any national level training course for the existing Certificate of Legal Practise.
Carter has also claimed to have produced the “inaugural” Handbook in Legal Practise for Malaysia, in the late 80s. A search of the main law libraries in Malaysia directed by the Chief Registrar, Federal Court Malaysia, has not found any such handbook.
He has also claimed to have, during that time to have identified and addressed “gaps” in Malaysian legal practise, but not even those in practice during that period and since have ever heard of him. Nor are senior practitioners aware of  “gaps” that needed that to be addressed by external consultants.
As CEO of the College Carter  has ultimate responsibility for the College’s Malaysian operation headed by Tritt and variously named the “College Of Law Asia Pacific” and the “College Of Law Asia”. A search by NMT has not revealed any entities registered under those names in Malaysia or in Australia, not even a foreign entities registered to conduct business in Malaysia.
Meanwhile the College, in collaboration with the Bar Council continues to sell its LLM and other courses in Malaysia, deriving a fee income from Malaysian courses.
-NMT