Kota Kinabalu: The High Court on Thursday fixed March 18 to hear an application by Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother to be made an interested party in a judicial review (JR) filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to quash the inquest into Zara’s death on the grounds that it was conducted under the wrong law.
Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid set the date after counsel Shahlan Jufri and Rizwandean M. Borhan, who appeared for Zara’s mother Noraidah Lamat, confirmed that they had filed the application on Dec 23, 2025.
In the notice of application, it was stated that the Interested Person (Noraidah) be granted leave to be heard at the hearing of the applicant’s JR application, including at the leave stage, on the ground that the Interested Person is a proper person to be heard and is directly and adversely affected by the relief sought in the JR.
It also stated that the Interested Person be permitted to oppose the applicant’s application for leave for JR and any substantive applications arising from it; that the Interested Person be entitled to file affidavits, submissions and skeletal arguments as may be necessary for the just disposal of the JR proceedings; and for any further or consequential orders as this Honourable Court deems fit, proper and just.
Meanwhile, in their affidavit in support, it was stated that the Interested Person, Noraidah, is the next-of-kin of the deceased, Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose death is the subject of the inquest proceedings sought to be quashed by the applicant.
The Interested Person has a direct, legal and substantial interest in the conduct, continuation and outcome of the inquest and its findings.
They stated that the applicant, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Ekonomi Semangat Bersatu Malaysia (Pembela), has no direct interest, is not adversely affected, and is a stranger to the inquest, and that the applicant’s application for leave for judicial review is time-barred.
The relief sought, namely the striking out or quashing of the entire inquest, adversely affects the Interested Person’s statutory right to a full, lawful and proper inquest into the cause of death.
The affidavit in support also stated that pursuant to Order 53 rule 8(1), the court has clear discretion to hear any proper person whose participation is necessary for justice, notwithstanding that such person was not served with the cause papers.
It is in the interests of justice, fairness and natural justice that the Interested Person be heard before any order affecting the inquest is considered.
On Nov 21, 2025, Pembela Chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Jeffry Rosman filed the JR and named the Attorney-General and the Coroner’s Court as the first and second respondents, respectively.
Jeffry said Sabah has its own Inquest Ordinance 1959, which he argued should have been applied instead of the federal Criminal Procedure Code.
He said the state law is still valid and contains specific safeguards, including provisions for a coroner to summon a jury with half its members from the same race as the deceased.
Jeffry said these safeguards were not considered during Zara’s inquest, rendering the proceedings procedurally improper and inconsistent with Sabah’s legal framework.
The NGO is seeking court orders to strike out the entire inquest, declare the 1959 Ordinance as the applicable law, and affirm Sabah’s constitutional rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
He said their intention is not to delay justice but to ensure the inquest is conducted lawfully, transparently and in accordance with Sabah’s legal obligations. Counsel Jul Hamri appeared for the applicant.
