Kota Kinabalu: A housewife told the Coroner’s Court on Monday that she was deeply concerned over what she described as an “immoral influence” after her daughter allegedly witnessed inappropriate conduct involving Zara Qairina Mahathir and one of her roommates.
The 62nd deponent, in her witness statement, said her daughter (Student A) had told her that she saw the roommate smelled Zara’s private part early in the morning.
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The mother said her daughter also saw Zara alone with the same roommate in the bathroom after earlier being seen joking and getting physically close.
“My daughter was confused and asked me about the matter, saying: ‘What is that, mother? Why did they do that? Why did Zara seem to react that way?’
“This was because my daughter had never witnessed such behaviour before.
“I am extremely worried about this ‘immoral influence’,” she added, saying she had reported the matter to Ustaz Azhari.
She further stated that, after a few weeks in the hostel, her daughter once called her in tears and under extreme stress.
“Her voice was barely audible, she struggled to speak, and she was sobbing.
“She complained that her roommates had verbally attacked her, scolding, insulting, and slandering her.
“The friends involved were Zara and the said roommate. I was worried because they had the influence of seniors.
“They stirred up trouble with the seniors, and the seniors scolded my daughter and forced her to interact with Zara and the other roommate.
“I am not sure who the seniors were. I complained to the ustaz so that the matter be properly investigated,” she said.
The mother had complained several matters to the Ustaz since March until July but she said she did not receive a good feedback from him.
The deponent also criticised the wardens, saying they were not transparent in handling reports and tended to trust students who lied or were good at acting.
“They are lazy when it comes to investigations and never conduct night patrols. Teachers are also biased and indifferent to student problems, they only scold without looking into the matter,” she said.
Regarding her daughter’s relationship with Zara, the deponent said that initially, Zara had bullied her daughter, but since April, they had begun to get along.
“I once asked my daughter why she was friends with Zara, since she used to be mean and always scolded her.
“My daughter replied, ‘That was before, mother. Zara has changed. She no longer misbehaves. She herself admitted she wanted to change and stop being naughty. She has repented.’
“I asked, ‘Repented? What does that mean?’ and my daughter said, ‘Yes, mother, she has prayed and repented, I even saw her do it twice.’
“My daughter also told me that she felt sorry for Zara because she had no friends and everyone shunned her. All the seniors were against her, and even the teachers often scolded her.
“I remained silent as my daughter told me this and prayed quietly in my heart that everything would turn out well,” she said.
