KOTA KINABALU: The head warden of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha in Papar, today told the Coroner’s Court that the term ‘MA’ used among students living at the school hostel 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 Zara Qairina’s death, presided over by Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Shahlan: Why does this ‘MA’ exist in the hostel?
Azhari: I don’t know.
Shahlan: Was Zara Qairina called in by senior students over a theft allegation under the guise of ‘MA’?
Azhari: Based on my understanding, the term ‘meeting’ implies a group setting…not a personal call-in for questioning. As I understand it, what the senior students did was merely an informal inquiry into the alleged theft involving Zara Qairina, 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, referring to senior-junior meetings, at the school hostel. She also acknowledged the possibility that Zara Qairina might have been summoned for such a session.
However, Linah testified that the ‘MA’ had been banned, as senior students were found to have acted beyond their authority.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
Zara Qairina, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar at about 4 am.
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.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
