The /g modifier when used in conjunction with an if is a little unusual. Typically you would see things like 'if (s/x/y/g)' or 'if (/x/)'. The /g means to do a global match, and it will return an array of applicable matches, if given the opportunity.

Maybe you are intending to write something like this:

open(INPUT, "ml_test.html");

# Read in the entire file into a single string.
my $text = join ('', <INPUT>);
close(INPUT);

while ($text =~ /\bclb_new>\b(.*?)\b<\/a>/g)
{
    print $1;
}
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