High Court to hear Zara Qairina’s mum’s application to join judicial review seeking to quash inquest on March 18

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 12 — The High Court has fixed March 18 to hear an application by Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother to be made an interested party in a judicial review filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) seeking to quash the inquest into her daughter’s death.

Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid set the date after counsel Shahlan Jufri and Rizwandean M Borhan informed the court that the application had been filed on December 23 last year on behalf of Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat.

In her application, supported by an affidavit, Noraidah said that as the next of kin, she has a direct and substantial interest in both the conduct and outcome of the inquest, including its findings.

She contended that the applicant, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Ekonomi Semangat Bersatu Malaysia (Pembela), has no direct interest in the proceedings, and that setting aside the inquest would undermine her statutory right to a full, lawful and proper inquiry into the cause of death.

On November 21, 2025, Pembela filed the judicial review seeking to quash the entire inquest on grounds that it was conducted under the federal Criminal Procedure Code instead of Sabah’s Inquest Ordinance 1959.

The group argued that the state law contains specific procedural safeguards and should govern the inquiry, and is seeking orders to declare the 1959 Ordinance as the applicable law and to strike out the ongoing proceedings. — Bernama