KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil today urged Malaysians not to boycott Merdeka celebrations over the death of schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir.
He stressed that the case is already being investigated by police and an inquest has been requested, BH Online reported this afternoon.
“Merdeka is a national event and I encourage us to celebrate it. I too want justice for Zara, I too want justice for Faris, and I too want justice for Syamsul,” he was quoted as saying at a cultural programme in Pantai Dalam today.
The death of 13-year-old Zara, a SMKA Tun Mustapha student in Papar, Sabah, after an alleged bullying incident has sparked public outrage nationwide and renewed calls for safer schools.
Police in Bukit Aman have since taken over the case.
The two other names mentioned by Fahmi refer to a tahfiz student Wan Ahmad Faris Wan Abdul Rahman who was found dead in the school toilet in Kok Lanas, Kelantan 12 years ago.
Syamsul Haris Shamsudin was a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia student who died during basic army training as a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Unit (Palapes) in Ulu Tiram, Johor, on July 28.
“We don’t want bullying to become something that drags on. The laws are there, action is being taken with Bukit Aman now leading the investigation into Zara Qairina’s case,” Fahmi was qoted as saying.
Her inquest is scheduled to start in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow, her family lawyers Hamid Ismail and Shahlan Jufri confirmed today.
Fahmi stressed that justice takes time, pointing to the case of Bella, a young girl with Down Syndrome, as an example.
“We know the process of justice does take time. In Bella’s case, it took a while but in the end we saw justice being served. I believe we will also get justice here,” he said.
Fahmi also cautioned against using tragedies for political gain.
“Let us not build castles over a grave. Let us not use this to popularise ourselves. What we want is justice,” he was quoted as saying.
