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Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth
Parliamentary Matters

Financial safeguards and governance controls in madrasahs

7 October 2026

Sectors

Community

Response to parliamentary question on financial safeguards, system access controls, and governance measures implemented in madrasahs

*3068. Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik: To ask 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.

Response:

  1. 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).

  2. 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 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 JMS madrasahs.

  3. MUIS has put in place financial controls in three areas.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Third, internet banking access has been restricted to authorised users with individual credentials and authentication tokens. Access rights are also regularly reviewed.

  7. 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.