Kota Kinabalu: AN ENGLISH teacher from SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha revealed that the copied contents of Zara Qairina Mahathir’s diaries were deleted from a WhatsApp conversation under the reason “for our own safety.”
Nor Asimah Zaiton, 50, disclosed the WhatsApp conversation between her and Cikgu Yuslina Yuslina regarding the diary content that had been shared with her.
In answering counsel Shahlan Jufri’s question on how the phrase “for our own safety” appeared in their conversation, Asimah said it was due to their fear that the documents might be leaked.
Shahlan: Did you receive copies of Zara’s diary contents?
Asimah: Yes. From Cikgu Yuslina.
Shahlan: How did you receive the copies?
Asimah: It started when Zara’s mother asked for them at the hospital after I showed her the first pages of the purple and green diary, which had been shared in the wardens’ WhatsApp group.
Shahlan: How did the phrase “for our own safety” come up in your conversation with Cikgu Yuslina?
Asimah: After receiving instructions from Ustaz Azhari, who informed us about the police directive, Cikgu Yuslina deleted the files to prevent them from spreading and to avoid the possibility of us being accused of circulating them. That is why she said it was for our own safety. I also believed her words meant we might be reprimanded by the police for tampering with evidence.
Shahlan: Did you share the copies with Zara’s mother?
Asimah: No. I was not brave enough because it had already become a police case.
Shahlan: Why didn’t you ask Zara’s mother to directly contact Teacher Yuslina for the diary copies?
Asimah: We were told not to share any information about Zara’s incident and that it must come from the school administrator. I thought Zara’s mother would contact the PK HEM.
Asimah further testified that she knew the diary contents had circulated on social media but did not know who leaked them. She agreed that the school was the first party to have the documents.
Responding to another question from Shahlan, Asimah said it was unfair to claim she did not care about Zara’s incident, as she had been asking her colleagues for updates while she was in Kuala Lumpur from July 17–20.
She also testified that while on the way to the hospital, ambulance paramedics asked her to bandage Zara’s hand.
After doing so, she called Zara’s name and saw tears flow from Zara’s eyes twice. Asimah, who accompanied Zara in the ambulance, said she was unsure whether Zara was conscious at that time.
When questioned by conducting officer Mohd Fairuz Johari, Asimah said she did not see injuries on Zara’s body but noticed bleeding on her leg. She added that Zara’s ankle was bleeding and that the bone was sticking out adding that, the bleeding was moderate.
Asimah told the Coroner that she managed to contact Zara’s mother and informed her about Zara’s condition. Upon arriving at the hospital, she again contacted Zara’s mother to inform her of their arrival.
She also testified that Zara was wearing blue and white sports attire, which had been handed to her by a State Education Department (JPN) counsellor.
Asimah said she did not know why the counsellor had possession of Zara’s clothing, adding that the package containing the clothes was then given to Zara’s mother’s cousin, who was seated next to her at the hospital.
Trial continues.
