By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The psychological pain experienced by Zara Qairina Mahathir was real and may have had long-lasting effects, the inquest into her death heard today.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Chua Sze Hung testified that a child's psychological experience is deeply personal and shaped by individual perceptions.
"It is more important how she perceived and processed the conflicts, as that would determine how she felt.
"I agree that the pervasiveness of the conflict is unknown. It could have been intermittent conflicts and not a 24/7 kind of conflict. But that does not mean the pain was not real.
"It has to be highlighted that in the diaries, it was not mere frustration or anger. It was pain to the point where she expressed the wish not to live and the wish for her mother not to live," the recalled 67th witness told coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Lawyer Rizwandean M. Borhan questioned whether the diary entries reflected only short-term emotional responses and whether the alleged conflicts between Zara Qairina and her mother, Noraidah Lamat, may have been temporary or situational.
Dr Chua said it was uncertain whether the disputes, including an incident in which Zara Qairina was allegedly scolded by her mother for using a handphone, had actually occurred, as there were no witnesses to the incidents.
"However, if this is personal writing, it more likely than not represents her true self. I do not see any reason why she would have written something that was untrue. I agree that we do not know the context behind it.
"But it is more important how the deceased actually perceived and experienced it, resulting in the pain.
"Looking at the response of the child in the diaries, where there were intense expressions of anger and wishes of death upon herself and others, in reference to the series of entries, it is possible that it was long-lasting."
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