KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) might have reached different findings had she been called to testify, says former auditor-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad.
Madinah, who served as auditor-general from 2017 to 2019, said the 2017 Auditor-General's Report prepared by her team did not identify any evidence of direct theft in TH.
"I did not see any evidence of such theft when I was the auditor-general.
"If my team and I had found evidence of theft, I would have focused on it and reported it to the authorities," she said.
She was speaking at the Musyawarah Nasional 2.0 forum themed Reality and Perception: Do Not Politicise TH here on Tuesday (Aug 25).
Madinah said audits were carried out according to established standards and based on audit evidence before the relevant statements or certificates were issued.
"We follow the facts and evidence, and remain grounded in reality," she said.
Her remarks come after the 211-page RCI report criticised the lack of firmness on the part of the auditor-general in relation to TH's financial statements.
The report noted that TH's financial statements from 2014 to 2017 received unqualified audit opinions, although the 2017 audit report contained an Emphasis of Matter (EOM).
Madinah said she was prepared to explain the basis of the audit decisions if she had been called before the commission.
She had previously said she went to the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) office at the appointed time for the proceedings and waited for more than 30 minutes, but was not called to testify.
"I was already there on the appointed day and at the scheduled time. I waited for more than 30 minutes, but unfortunately, I was not called," she had said.
Madinah had also defended the decision to issue an unqualified audit opinion with EOMs for TH's 2017 accounts, saying the decision was based on professional judgement, audit evidence and applicable auditing standards.
The RCI's assessment differed, finding that the issues in the accounts warranted a qualified opinion rather than an unqualified opinion with EOMs.
Madinah said she would have been the first to report the matter to the authorities had her team found evidence of direct theft during the period examined by the RCI.
