Financial Safeguards Implemented at Madrasahs Following Governance Measures Announced in 2023
Ministry of DefenceSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether further financial safeguards, system access controls, and oversight over fund transfers and royalty payments have been implemented in madrasahs since 2023. Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik directed this query to the Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. In response, Mr Zaqy Mohamad stated that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) updated finance, procurement, and payment guidelines in 2026 for Joint Madrasah System (JMS) madrasahs. Key safeguards include segregation of duties with dual signatories, pre-payment vendor checks, monthly bank reconciliations, and restricted internet banking access requiring individual authentication tokens. Additionally, he noted that JMS madrasahs do not receive external royalties and must report any related-party transactions within their independently audited financial reports.
Transcript
94 Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether any further financial safeguards and system access controls have been implemented in madrasahs since the governance measures announced in 2023; (b) if so, what are these; and (c) whether controls over royalty payments and fund transfers between madrasahs and linked entities have since been strengthened.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad: The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has continued to strengthen financial safeguards and system access controls across all madrasahs under the Joint Madrasah System (JMS).
As shared with this House in 2023, following the incident involving misappropriation of funds by a former madrasah executive director, MUIS had implemented several measures to improve financial governance of the JMS madrasahs, ranging from establishing shared financial services to requiring regular financial audits. More recently, in 2026, MUIS updated its guidelines covering finance, procurement and payments for the JMS madrasahs.
MUIS has put in place financial controls in three areas.
First, there must be clear segregation of duties across procurement and payment functions, with tiered approval limits and at least two authorised signatories for all payments. Authorised approvers are required to declare any potential conflict of interest and recuse themselves from the approval process where appropriate. Direct contracting with sole suppliers also requires prior approval by MUIS, providing an added layer of oversight.
Second, stronger controls have been put in place before payments can be made. These include additional checks before vendor details are created or amended, supporting documentation for payments and monthly checks of transactions against bank records.
Third, internet banking access has been restricted to authorised users with individual credentials and authentication tokens. Access rights are also regularly reviewed.
JMS madrasahs currently do not receive royalties from external parties. They are also required to report transactions with related parties as part of their independently audited financial reports.