Kota Kinabalu: An official report regarding the incident involving Zara Qairina Mahathir has been forwarded to the State Education Department (JPN) and the District Education Office (PPD).
The principal of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha, Shaharoom Hashim, 51, told Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that the report had been prepared by the Students Affairs (HEM) secretary of the school.
Shaharoom, who was recalled following the revelation of written statements by students, was responding to questions from counsel Shahlan Jufri regarding whether an official report had been submitted concerning Zara’s case.
Shahlan: Regarding the coordination for submitting the report to the PPD and JPN, were you the one who prepared the report to be sent to the PPD and JPN?
Shaharoom: For initial information, via WhatsApp in the early morning, I stated that an incident involving a student accident had occurred and that we at the school had already contacted an ambulance. And while on the way to the hospital, I personally informed the PPD and JPN.
Shahlan: Was a written report ever submitted to the PPD and JPN?
Shaharoom: It’s not from me.
Shahlan: Meaning there was no official report from the school to the PPD and JPN regarding Zara’s case?
Shaharoom: There was. After I sent the message via WhatsApp, the coordination and the details of what happened were handled by the HEM Secretary.
Shahlan: Did you see the report prepared by the HEM Secretary?
Shaharoom: They conducted verification and informed me, and after that I sent it to the PPD and JPN.
Shahlan: Meaning you saw the official report?
Shaharoom: Yes.
Shahlan: Is the report in your possession?
Shaharoom: The report is kept by HEM. The report that I have was only the report I sent early in the morning on July 16, 2025.
Shahlan: Did you bring this report to court today?
Shaharoom: No.
Shahlan: And this report was sent to the PPD and JPN?
Shaharoom: Yes.
Shahlan: Is this report still kept by the school?
Shaharoom: It should be in the documentation files. But at that time, I checked it via WhatsApp, because we needed to make details or take action urgently and send it immediately.
She also told the coroner that she saw and got through the official report before submitting to JPN and PPD, adding that the three- page report was kept in her handphone.
Due to the new revelation of the report, the coroner had stood down the proceedings for the parties to look into the said new document.
According to Shaharoom, the report was prepared by HEM Secretary Warden Rahmatina, and she reviewed it before it was sent.
She told the coroner that the report had been sent through WhatsApp and added that she signed the report.
Shaharoom further testified that there were two separate written reports, namely an initial report relating to the case of a student who fell at the hostel of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha, Limawan, Papar, and another initial report specifically related to Zara’s case which comprised three pages.
According to Shaharoom, she received the first report on July 16 while she was at the hospital, before it was forwarded to the PPD and JPN.
The second report was received several days later, after the first initial report had been received, said Shaharoom.
She said that the first report was sent to the PPD and JPN via the WhatsApp application, while the second one was only conveyed verbally.
She explained that the timing details in the report were obtained through discussions with HEM and the warden while she was at the hospital on the day of the incident.
Shaharoom stressed that the contents of the second report had been explained verbally to the PPD and JPN during their visit to the school on July 18.
When pressed by Shahlan, Shaharoom admitted that the second report was never submitted in written form to the PPD or JPN and was only presented verbally.
In response to further questions, she told the court that a coordination meeting to align the chronology of events was held on July 17 in the school’s meeting room.
