KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Former auditor-general (AG) Tan Sri Madinah Mohamed admitted in the High Court on Wednesday (April 13) that she was not aware that there was no confirmation letter sent to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) before the final audit report done by the National Audit Department was sent to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Madinah, the 12th prosecution witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy's audit tampering trial, agreed with the latter's counsel Datuk N Sivananthan that the issuance of a confirmation letter was an important step in the auditing process.
“I am not aware that this particular step (confirmation letter) did not take place and it should have been done,” she agreed.
Sivananthan: Would you agree that the confirmation letter is a final opportunity for the auditee (1MDB) to challenge or amend the findings?
Madinah: Yes.
Sivananthan: It is an important step in the auditing process?
Madinah: Yes.
Sivananthan: Are you aware that such a confirmation letter to 1MDB does not exist in the National Audit Department files?
Madinah: No, I am not aware.
Sivananthan: Is it possible your department missed out this step?
Madinah: Yes.
Madinah, who was AG from February 2017 to 2019, said the 1MDB audit was done during her predecessor Tan Sri Ambrin Buang's time sometime in 2015 and 2016.
She was also asked by Arul Kanda's lawyer about the non-presence of a management letter issued by her department after an exit conference was done, to which Madinah replied that she was not aware that such a letter was not issued by her department.
Madinah agreed with Sivananthan that the management letter should have been issued.
Prior to this, the witness agreed that she was not involved with the auditing process of 1MDB and that an auditee cannot instruct the auditor doing the audit to do something.
The 12th prosecution witness also agreed that the finalisation of the 1MDB audit report was done during Ambrin's tenure and that Ambrin was the ultimate auditor general.
Ambrin was AG from 2006 to February 2017.
Madinah, also when asked during cross-examination by Sivananthan, said she was not aware that her predecessor Ambrin had told the court that he was in full control of the report.
She had previously testified in the trial that the 1MDB audit report had been tampered with and had reiterated that notion earlier when she testified at the PAC proceedings in 2018.
During the present audit tampering trial, Madinah had told the court she was shocked that the 1MDB report was tampered with after being told about this by audit director Datuk Nor Salwani Muhammad.
Madinah was testifying in Najib and Arul Kanda's trial with regards to the purported tampering of the 1MDB report that was prepared and tabled to the PAC.
The hearing before Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan will continue on May 20, with the re-examination of Madinah by appointed senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and possibly, the continued testimony of Najib's former principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh.