The head warden of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar told the coroner’s court that the term “MA” used among students referred to “Mesyuarat Asrama”, a group meeting.
Azhari Abd Sagap, 31, explained that the term generally meant a meeting involving many students, and not a one-on-one session where an individual was singled out and questioned.
The eighth witness said this when questioned by lawyer Shahlan Jufri on the ninth day of the inquest into student Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death, presided over by coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Shahlan: Why does this “MA” (culture) exist in the hostel?
Azhari: I don’t know.
Shahlan: Was Zara called in by senior students on the pretext of a MA to address a theft allegation?
Azhari: Based on my understanding, the term implies a group setting… not a personal call-in for questioning. As I understand it, the senior students merely conducted an informal inquiry into the alleged theft involving Zara, to just ask her: “Did you steal or not?”. That’s all.
Last week, the school’s security guard, Linah Mansoding @ Jaliha, 65, confirmed the existence of the “MA” culture, which referred to senior-junior meetings, at the school hostel. She also acknowledged the possibility that Zara might have been summoned for such a session.
However, Linah testified that such meetings had been banned, as senior students were found to have acted beyond their authority.
Yesterday, Azhari told the coroner’s court that he heard Zara crying and shouting “I didn’t steal, stupid” after leaving a dormitory room on the night of July 15.
He also said that a Form One student had complained to her dormitory leader about missing belongings, and Zara had been summoned for questioning.
Zara, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory at about 4am.
On Aug 8, the Attorney General’s Chambers ordered her remains to be exhumed for a post-mortem, before announcing an inquest into her death on Aug 13.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
