KOTA KINABALU: The Coroner’s Court heard that the District Education Office (PPD), the State Education Department (JPN), and the Malaysian Education Ministry (KPM) made six separate visits to SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha following the incident involving student Zara Qairina Mahathir.
Teacher Nurul Shahadah Ibrahim, 38, said she could recall visits on July 17, July 21, July 26, Aug 4, Aug 15, and Nov 1 this year.
She told the court that KPM had met with all teachers during one of the visits, although she did not regard the session as an official meeting but rather an effort to provide encouragement ahead of the SPM examination.
Nurul said KPM’s presence boosted teachers’ morale, adding that “as SPM teachers who were directly involved in the case, we could not neglect our candidates because they really needed us.”
She explained that while one KPM visit focused on understanding the chronology of Zara’s case, the remaining engagements were supportive programmes, with JPN and PPD also visiting twice to learn more about the incident.
Nurul said the school did not inform PPD, JPN, or KPM about its internal investigations, insisting the inquiries were kept solely for school records and that the documents would only be given to authorities if requested.
She told the court that the school had never submitted such internal reports before, saying doing so without being asked “would seem as if we did not fully trust the police,” and adding that the investigations were simply meant to demonstrate that the school had taken action.
