KOTA KINABALU, Oct 17 — The legal team representing Noraidah Lamat, the mother of Zara Qairina Mahathir, has yet to decide whether to pursue civil action against any party, with its immediate focus on completing written submissions for the inquest.

Counsel Shahlan Jufri, speaking on behalf of the team, said the matter would be discussed with Noraidah before any decision was made on further legal action.

“For now, our focus is on the inquest, particularly the written submissions. We will discuss the matter with our client, as the final decision on whether to take civil action against any party deemed responsible rests with her,” he told a press conference after the inquest proceedings yesterday.

Shahlan also revealed that Noraidah had sent a brief WhatsApp message that morning, expressing her hope that everything would be made easier.

He thanked members of the media for their coverage of the inquest, describing it as professional, accurate and timely.

Shahlan said the 96-day inquest had been a challenging process, although it had proceeded relatively swiftly alongside proceedings in the Court for Children.

“There is a lot that we need to address in our written submissions, and we hope the decision eventually reached will be fair to all parties,” he said.

On the funds raised to support the inquest, Shahlan clarified that the amount collected was slightly more than RM200,000, dismissing claims that it had reached RM1 million or RM2 million.

He said the fund was announced by Senator Marhamah Rosli last year and had been independently audited after Noraidah and the legal team appointed a qualified independent accountant in April this year.

According to Shahlan, the money was intended solely to cover expenses related to the inquest and had not been used for other purposes.

He added that the legal team had handled the case on a pro bono basis, meaning no legal fees were charged.

Shahlan also said there was no legal requirement for Noraidah or the legal team to make the audit report publicly available. — Daily Express