KOTA KINABALU, Nov 21 — Non-government organisation Pertubuhan Kebajikan Ekonomi Semangat Bersatu Malaysia (Pembela Malaysia) is seeking to cancel the ongoing court investigation into the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, asserting that proceedings were not conducted in accordance with the local inquest law.
Its president Datuk Seri Mohd Jeffry Rosman said the courts should have followed Sabah’s Inquest Ordinance 1959, a legislation that specifically governs how inquests must be carried out locally.
“Despite this, the authorities conducted Zara’s inquest under the Criminal Procedure Code, a federal law not intended to override Sabah’s local inquest law. This is unlawful, ultra vires and in excess of jurisdiction,” he said.
Ultra vires is a legal term in Latin that means that a person or organisation has done something beyond the legal power or authority they are allowed to do.
“When a specific and dedicated State law exists, that law must be applied. Ignoring it is a serious legal error that undermines the rights of the deceased’s family and the public’s expectation of fairness.”
Jeffry added that the Sabah ordinance includes safeguards, such as the option for a coroner to summon a jury composed of at least half of the deceased's race, which he claimed was never considered during the ongoing proceedings.
“We believe it is time to stop what is currently being done in the Coroner’s Court. The inquest has reached its 41st day, and Zara has been gone for 127 days. Yet we see justice for her becoming increasingly unclear,” he said.
His application for judicial review seeks to quash and strike out the entire inquest proceedings and declare that Zara’s inquest must be conducted under the Inquest Ordinance 1959.
The inquest into Zara Qairina’s death began on September 3 at the Coroner’s Court here.
She was pronounced dead on July 17, a day after being found unconscious near her school dormitory in Papar.
The inquest was called by the Attorney-General’s Chambers following nationwide demonstrations calling for a post mortem and transparency in the handling of her death.
