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FORMER Auditor-General Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad has rejected claims by Tabung Haji chairman Tan Sri Rashid Hussin about her appearance before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the pilgrims’ fund, saying she was subpoenaed to testify but was sent home without being called to give evidence.
“I attended because I had received a subpoena, but I was told to go home without being called to give evidence in the proceedings before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Tabung Haji (TH) on the date they had set,” Berita Harian quoted Madinah saying.
She said Rashid, who is also an RCI member, was therefore inaccurate in his account of her attendance at the proceedings.
Madinah also denied ever asking to enter the RCI hearing room with then National Audit Department Financial Audit Division deputy director Dr Mona Othman, saying Mona had only been on standby outside to provide technical information if required.
“That statement is inaccurate because I never asked to be in the hearing room with Dr Mona. Instead, Dr Mona was only on standby outside in case there were questions of a technical nature.
“I never asked to enter the hearing room with Dr Mona. At the time, a member of the secretariat came out of the hearing room and told me that I did not need to go in and asked me to leave.
“If it was true that Dr Mona could not be brought into the room, why was I not informed and why was I simply told to go home? When I asked why, I was told that they were not sure,” she told BH yesterday.
Madinah said she had received the subpoena to testify before the RCI and attended the proceedings on June 3, 2022, as required.
She also challenged the suggestion that her written responses to 75 questions were an adequate substitute for oral testimony.
“I did submit an affidavit, but it could not replace oral submissions. They needed to hear what I had to say,” she said.
The dispute comes amid questions over a RM4.8 billion difference between the National Audit Department’s findings and PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) valuation of Tabung Haji.
Madinah had previously rejected suggestions that the discrepancy showed the National Audit Department had failed in its duties, saying the difference reflected variations in mandate, audit scope, reference periods and valuation methodologies.
She said the differing figures did not mean the National Audit Department had overlooked losses or that PwC had overvalued them, but reflected the different assessment bases used by the two parties.
Madinah said the National Audit Department conducted its audits according to its statutory mandate, applicable laws and accounting standards in force when the financial statements were prepared.
“For that reason, it is inappropriate to conclude that the credibility of the National Audit Department was compromised simply because of the difference, or that all audits conducted by the department over the years should be questioned.
“Audit work must be assessed based on the laws, mandate and standards in force at the time it was carried out. It is inappropriate to assess previous audits using standards or approaches that emerged later,” she said. - September 4, 2026
