KOTA KINABALU, Sept 18 — The chief warden of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha broke down in the Coroner’s Court today saying he felt victimised by internet users cyber bullying him and the school in the events following 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death.
Thirty-one-year-old Azhari Abdul Sagap broke down in the Coroner’s Court today as he defended himself and his school from accusations of covering up the events and other criticism and vitriol towards the school claiming cover-ups and mishandling of the incident.
Breaking down in tears, Azhari said he had fully cooperated with police investigations from the start, insisting that neither he nor the school had hidden any information and that he had tried his best to be supportive throughout the ordeal.
“If I wanted to protect her bullies or killers, I wouldn’t have told the police what happened on the night of the 15th. I told them everything on the 16th even before Zara Qairina’s mother lodged her second police report,” he said.
Azhari said it was unfair that he and another student were targeted by online bullies, who had discovered Zara Qairina after she fell from the dormitory building, saying she was being unfairly vilified online.
“To me, the accusations towards her are so cruel — just because she was the first to find Zara. Maybe Zara could have died on the spot if she had not found her. She is a good student — my top hafazan student every year. Why is she being attacked like this?” he said, while visibly choked with emotion.
Azhari recounted how he personally tried to do his best upon finding Zara Qairina lying by the drain, by trying to take her to the hospital, calling for an ambulance, accompanying her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and remaining with her family until late into the night.
“I tried to save her. I followed the ambulance to the hospital, I stayed until her mother arrived, and I was there until midnight. Is this what the school and I deserve?” he asked.
He also described doing his best to be present for Zara Qairina’s family through Zara Qairina’s final hours, the morgue process, and her burial, saying he and other teachers never abandoned her family and only left them when requested for help by police.
“There were no complaints from Zara or her mother to the school before this. We were not hiding anything,” he said.
“I am looking for justice for her, but why do we have to go through this too?” he said, adding that accusations of a cover-up against the school had caused immense strain on him and his family.
Azhari said he felt wronged, as the school community was now being cyberbullied and branded as “murderers and bullies” online, even though they had tried their best to help.
“For the record, two weeks before the incident, they had approved for my wife’s transfer to my school. We have been doing long distance since 2020. But since the incident, the plans have changed, and now my child is in Beaufort. Is this my reward? My family being attacked because I made the report? That’s not logical,” he said.
Azhari had been asked by lawyer Abdul Fikry Jaafar how he wanted to respond to allegations and speculations from netizens that targeted their school after the incident.
The coroner called for a lunch break after Azhari’s emotional rant.
