‘What she said is not true’ — TH chairman says Madinah was served subpoena

TABUNG Haji chairman Tan Sri Rashid Hussin has hit back at former Auditor-General Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad’s claim that she was not called to testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), saying she was served with a subpoena and given an opportunity to provide evidence.

Rashid said Madinah was formally subpoenaed to appear before the RCI but had requested to attend together with Mona Othman, then deputy director of the Financial Audit Division.

He said the request could not be accommodated as the RCI conducted its proceedings individually.

“I do not intend to prolong this controversy, but I feel an explanation needs to be given.

“For the record, Tan Sri (Madinah) was served with a subpoena. Therefore, what she said is not true,” he told reporters after attending the Dialog Ummah: Realiti Masa Depan TH in Bangi today.

Rashid said Mona subsequently appeared before the commission on June 2, 2022, providing an explanation and submitting the full report.

“According to the RCI proceedings, the investigation was conducted individually. However, on June 2, 2022, Puan Mona attended and provided an explanation to us, in addition to submitting the full report,” he said.

Madinah, who served as Auditor-General from 2017 to 2019, was previously reported to have expressed disappointment over not being called to testify during the RCI proceedings.

She claimed she had been at the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) office while the proceedings were taking place but was not called to give evidence.

Rashid, however, said Madinah had been given sufficient opportunity to put her account before the commission.

He said the RCI had allowed her to provide written responses to 75 questions, which were recorded as a witness statement.

“The answers were recorded as a witness statement and she submitted them in the form of a statutory declaration on April 1, 2022,” he said.

The dispute comes as the RCI’s findings on Tabung Haji continue to draw scrutiny, with authorities pursuing investigations into matters highlighted in the report. - September 3, 2026