'Not true': Tabung Haji RCI member denies former auditor-general's testimony snubbed

A member of the Tabung Haji royal commission of inquiry said it is not true that former auditor-general Madinah Mohamad was not given a chance to testify during the probe.

During a dialogue on the Tabung Haji scandal today, Abdul Rashid Hussain, now the fund's chairperson, said Madinah was subpoenaed to testify on June 3, 2022.

"Madinah was issued with a subpoena, so what she said is untrue," he said in response to a question from an audience member about Madinah's claims.

Madinah previously said she turned up on the day she was supposed to testify and waited for more than 30 minutes but was ultimately not called in.

She said she was therefore denied her right to be heard and an opportunity to respond to the RCI’s report, which criticised her office for a lack of firmness during certain periods.

Rashid provides explanation

Explaining the situation, Rashid (above) said the former auditor-general requested to appear together with then financial audit division deputy director Mona Othman.

He said the RCI rejected this because questioning is done on a one-to-one basis.

Instead, Rashid said the commission summoned Mona to testify on June 2, the day before Madinah was scheduled to appear.

However, he did not explain why they did not proceed with questioning Madinah on June 3.

Additionally, he said the RCI also gave Madinah the chance to submit a written reply to 75 questions, which she did as a statutory declaration.

"She submitted it on the 1st of April... I hope the fact it was done on April 1 (means) she didn't think it was an April Fool's joke," he said.

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