Public outrage has erupted in Malaysia over what many see as a culture of impunity after the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir prompted mass protests and raised uncomfortable questions about unresolved allegations of abuse.
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The 13-year-old schoolgirl died in hospital on July 17, a day after she was discovered unconscious outside the dormitory of her Islamic boarding school in Papar, Sabah state. Police initially suggested she had fallen from the third floor – an assumption her family has refused to accept.
In the weeks since her death, Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, has spearheaded a campaign for justice that has captured the nation’s interest. Through her lawyer, she previously revealed she had found suspicious bruises on her daughter’s back before burial and questioned why no postmortem had been performed.
As rumours of foul play spread – fuelled by speculation over connections between other pupils and powerful families in Sabah – Malaysia’s attorney general took the unusual step of ordering police to reopen the investigation and exhume Zara’s body for a postmortem. The results, completed on Sunday, have yet to be made public.
Still, thousands rallied on Sunday afternoon in Zara’s quiet hometown of Sipitang, where most of the district’s 66,000 residents work in paper plantations, farming or fishing to demand justice.
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