KOTA KINABALU: A witness told the Coroner’s Court that she and the late Zara Qairina Mahathir began writing in a shared diary in May 2024.
According to lawyer Joan Goh, the 32nd child witness, who testified before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan today said she knew Zara Qairina when they were both in primary school, attending the same religious class and later became close friends.
The witness testified they had two diaries, one brown and one black. They took turns writing in them, spending one week at the witness’ home and the next at Zara Qairina’s. The last time the witness wrote in the diary was in Feb 2025.
“The witness said she saw Zara’s diary when she visited her house earlier this year. She also noticed blood stains on some pages of the diary at school.
“Zara had brought the diary to school, and the witness was confident the blood was Zara’s because the diary was in her possession at the time.
“Zara once told the witness that she was under stress but never revealed the cause or to whom she wanted to confide her problems,” said Goh who is representing one of the five students charged in connection with Zara Qairina’s case.
Goh added that the witness stated Zara Qairina often used the term ‘barcode’ in their diary to refer to her act of cutting her own hand.
According to the witness, Zara Qairina said she would make ‘barcode’ two or three times a month.
The witness also said that Zara Qairina told her that her mother was aware of what she was doing, but the witness was unsure to what extent her mother had tried to stop her.
Goh said the witness also mentioned that Zara Qairina told her she had cut her hand using a sharpener blade or a cutter.
“The witness herself had seen the scars on Zara’s left hand, although they were not bleeding at the time. When asked about it, Zara just smiled and said it didn’t hurt.
“She had done it repeatedly, sometimes even in front of the witness using a pencil sharpener blade. The witness then took the blade and threw it into the bin,” she said.
The witness also said that Zara Qairina often visited her house to play and spend time with her family, as she was an only child. However, Zara Qairina never stayed overnight at her house.
“Throughout their friendship, Zara rarely talked about her father and never mentioned any problems related to her mother or family,” Goh said.
During their friendship, the witness found Zara Qairina to be easily jealous and somewhat obsessive in their friendship. She often became upset if the witness got close to other friends, especially those in the religious school.
“The witness and Zara once argued over jealousy and stopped talking for more than two weeks.
“Later, the witness wrote a letter to reconcile with her. Zara had once promised that she would not make any more ‘barcode’, and if she did, their friendship would end. Since then, Zara had stopped doing so.
“The witness also received small notes from Zara, one of which read, ‘(name of witness)… if I die, please do not forget me’,” said Goh.
The proceedings will resume this afternoon with another child witness.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
