Malaysia orders Zara’s body to be exhumed amid protests over student’s death

Malaysia’s attorney general late on Friday ordered police to exhume the remains of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir as hundreds gathered across three cities in Sabah demanding justice.

Zara died on July 17 after she was found outside a dormitory at her Islamic school in Sabah’s Papar district.

Police initially said she was believed to have fallen from the third floor of the building. But her family have raised doubts over the cause of death, alleging police failed to thoroughly collect evidence, carry out a postmortem and treat her death as potentially suspicious.

Public unease with the police probe has mounted since. A voice recording of Zara saying that she was scared for her safety was released on Thursday, fuelling speculation that her death was the result of foul play.

Hundreds of people gathered in Sabah’s east coast cities of Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau on Friday evening chanting “justice for Zara” and that her death was a result of murder. Social media messages show that more protests are planned across the state over the weekend including one in the state capital Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.

On Friday, the attorney general’s chamber said Zara’s remains should be exhumed for a postmortem.

“This step is to ensure that the police obtains additional information and evidence needed to complete the investigation into Zara Qairina’s death,” the attorney general’s chamber said.