Zara Qairina's school performance unsatisfactory, court told

 By Olivia Miwil

May 21, 2026 @ 6:16pm

KOTA KINABALU: The court heard that the late Zara Qairina Mahathir's academic performance was unsatisfactory, based on her school history and diary entries.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung said the then 13-year-old's academic performance was not good, as she mentioned Arabic language in one of her diaries.

"If you look back at her history, she has problems staying awake in class; most of the time, she was noted to be sleeping.

"In my opinion, having performed fairly well in primary school and the fact that her mother is a teacher, she would have wanted to perform well. I'm of the opinion that she did not want to perform poorly," he testified before coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan on the 71st day of the inquest into Zara Qairina's death.

As for the two audio recordings played by lawyer Datuk Rizwandean M. Borhan, the 67th witness said there is some degree of concern about academics as the topic was brought up between Zara Qairina and her mother.

In the recordings, he added the then 13-year-old had shown that academics were an important part of her life and that poor academic performance is not something to be celebrated as it is a negative event.

Dr Chua also said that based on the conversation, he did not think the mother was giving any unhealthy pressure when it comes to academic performance.

When Zara Qairina was heard saying "it was okay, as long as she passed", the expert said it could be a defence mechanism to protect her mind unconsciously.

He also said that as a person who feared rejection, there was disappointment related to her becoming a "badar" (prefect).

"When she was reminded by a student not to 'berlebih-lebihan' (go beyond) with her duty, understanding how important it was for her, it would have impacted her psychological state on the chances of her being a badar in future and her image to the badar's leaders."

"It has to be taken into her psychological context where she is sensitive to rejection. People who are sensitive to rejection are more often than not readily to perceive and anxiously expect it. She would have been anxious about her future to become a badar."

The inquest will resume tomorrow.