Zara inquest funds audited, says lawyer

KOTA KINABALU: Funds raised for the inquest into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir were audited in April last year, lawyer Shahlan Jufri said.

Representing Zara Qairina's mother, Noraidah Lamat, he said questions were still being raised about the funds.

He added that Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Marhamah Rosli had announced last year that the amount collected stood at just over RM200,000, not more than RM1 million.

"Those funds have been audited. My client and the team also appointed an independent accountant to audit them to ensure the money would not be used for purposes other than the inquest.

"There is no legal requirement for us, on behalf of our client, to make the audit report public.

"As far as we are aware, the funds were used solely for this inquest," he told a press conference at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex.

Marhamah, an activist who initiated the Justice for Zara movement, had previously denied that the fund account was fully segregated and had not been merged with accounts belonging to non-governmental organisations she formerly chaired.

She was appointed to the federal cabinet in December last year, five months after Zara Qairina was found unconscious at the SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha school hostel on July 16. Zara Qairina died the following day.

Shahlan added that his team was handling the 96-day inquest on a pro bono basis.

"Not a single sen has been spent on legal fees for this inquest, and there have been no costs incurred."

Shahlan's team comprises Datuk Rizwandean Bukhary M Borhan, Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi Md Zain, Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh, Farrah Nasser and Elhanan James.

Zara's father, Mahathir Mohd Hashim, was represented by lawyers Sherzali Herza Asli, Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip and Clarice Vyone Conrad.

Lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Joan Goh and Prem Elmer Ganasan acted for Student A, while Azhier Farhan Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, Mohammed Fareez Mohammed Salleh and Sylyester Kuan represented Students B, C, D and E.