Zara Qairina’s inquest: Family lawyers hope cause of death will be revealed

THE legal team representing the mother of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir has expressed hope that the upcoming inquest into the teenager’s death will uncover the truth about the circumstances that led to her tragic passing.

Zara, a student at a boarding school in Sabah, was found unconscious beneath her school dormitory on 16 July and pronounced dead the following day.

The inquest into her death is scheduled to begin this Wednesday at the Coroner’s Court in Kota Kinabalu and will run through to the end of September.

“The legal team is fully prepared to assist the Coroner’s Court in establishing the truth behind Zara’s death,” said lead counsel Shahlan Jufri, who is representing Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat. “This inquest is about uncovering what really happened to her.”

The inquest, initiated at the family’s request through an application to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), will see up to 70 witnesses take the stand, including a key forensic pathologist who conducted the post-mortem examination.

Shahlan, along with fellow counsels Rizwandean M Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh and Farrah Nasser, confirmed they had already received an initial list of witnesses from the prosecution and expected further documents to be disclosed on 2 September.

“The full number of witnesses may change depending on the Coroner’s direction and the needs of the inquest,” said Shahlan, adding that evidence will be submitted in stages according to the court’s instructions.

When asked whether Zara’s mother would testify on the first day, Shahlan said it would depend on the witness sequence prepared by the Deputy Public Prosecutor acting as the inquest’s conducting officer.

Coroner Azreena Aziz previously approved the application for Noraidah to be recognised as an interested party, allowing her legal representatives to actively participate and question witnesses. The same status was also granted to lawyers representing five teenagers previously charged in the Juvenile Court with bullying in connection to Zara’s death.

The AGC earlier stated that the pathologist would be one of the principal witnesses in the inquest, tasked with explaining the medical cause of Zara’s death.

The inquest will now be presided over by Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, who replaces Azreena. Hearings are scheduled for 3–5 September, 8–12 September, 17–19 September, 22–26 September, and 29–30 September 2025. - Sept 1, 2025