Kota Kinabalu: There was no solid information that Zara Qairina Mahathir suffered from clinical depression, severe anxiety, serious mental illness or had a high risk of suicide between the ages of seven and 12, the Coroner’s Court heard on Monday.
Child psychologist and registered counsellor Dr Noor Aishah Rosli told the coroner that her assessment found no evidence that Zara had persistent, planned or sustained suicidal intent before entering secondary school.
She said issues relating to “barcode” behaviour, or non-suicidal self-injury, should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of suicidal intent.
Instead, such behaviour should be understood within the context of adolescent development, peer influence, current trends and emotionally immature ways of expressing distress, she said.
In her opinion, the reported episodes were insufficient to support a conclusion that Zara had persistent, planned or ongoing suicidal intent.
The 76th deponent was reading out her witness statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Dr Noor Aishah further testified that in 2025, Zara entered Form One at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Tun Datu Mustapha (SMKATDM), marking a major transition in her life as she chose to stay in the school hostel and live away from her mother for the first time.
“Zara chose to enrol at SMKATDM and moved into the hostel on Feb 18, 2025. This change involved a new environment, new friends, the hostel system, school discipline, relationships with seniors and physical separation from her mother,” she said.
Dr Noor Aishah said initial information indicated that Zara was excited to begin her new life in secondary school and the hostel.
She said Zara actively sought to make new friends, adapted to the dormitory environment and showed a desire to stand out positively.
“While staying at the hostel, Zara was described as a cheerful, friendly and active student who mixed easily with others. She enjoyed chatting, joking and sharing food, and showed an interest in taking on responsibilities, such as assisting with religious activities or becoming a BADAR (a surau prefect body) in the future,” she said.
However, Dr Noor Aishah said Zara also began facing several interpersonal stressors in the secondary school and hostel environment.
These included issues involving peer relationships, negative perceptions from some students, teasing, labelling, matters involving male students who liked her,
relationships with seniors, incidents involving missing belongings, as well as reprimands or social pressure from friends and other students.
“In my assessment, these were situational and interpersonal factors that should be seriously evaluated because they occurred much closer to the incident than issues related to Zara’s earlier developmental history,” she said.
The trial continues.
