THE FATHER of Zara Qairina Mahathir told the Coroner’s Court that the last time he saw his daughter was around 2017 in Sipitang.
The 80th deponent, Mahathir Mohd Hashim @ Marikin, 45, said since around 2017, he had no longer lived with or returned to Sipitang to be with Zara and her mother due to disagreements between him and Zara’s mother.
“The last time I saw Zara was around 2017 in Sipitang,” he said while reading his written statement before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan.
Mahathir said that after he stopped living with Zara and her mother, he kept in touch with his daughter only through phone calls and WhatsApp messages.
Earlier, Mahathir told the court that his marriage to Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat, was his second marriage and that Zara was their daughter.
He said he called Zara “Baby Zara”, while Zara called him “Babah”.
Before marrying Noraidah, Mahathir had been married to his first wife, but the marriage ended in divorce.
Mahathir said he started working in Kota Kinabalu in mid-2015 and, due to his job, he rented a room in Kota Kinabalu, after he no longer lived with Zara and her mother in Sipitang.
“However, I still returned to Sipitang to see Zara and her mother once or twice a month, considering my financial constraints and inability to travel to Sipitang every week.
“Zara’s mother was the one who fully cared for and raised Zara,” he said.
Mahathir said that based on his observations while living with them, Zara was a cheerful child who liked the beach and sea.
He said Zara often asked him to take her to the beach whenever he returned home.
Mahathir had also taken Zara and her mother on a holiday to a resort in Tuaran, when he had some extra money to spend on a holiday and spend time together.
“Zara also did not show any signs or conditions that caused me concern,” he said.
Mahathir said he was in Beaufort when he received a WhatsApp message from Zara’s mother on July 16, 2025, between 8am and 10am, informing him that Zara was in the emergency department.
He said Zara’s mother also sent him a photograph of Zara lying on a bed in the emergency department, but at the time, he did not know which hospital Zara was in and had no information about the hospital.
“Therefore, after receiving the WhatsApp message from Zara’s mother, I immediately informed my father, Mohd Hashim @ Marikan Tuah, and asked him to look for Zara at Sipitang Hospital,” he said.
Mahathir said Sipitang Hospital was the first place they searched because, to his knowledge, Zara lived with her mother in Sipitang and he had always assumed that his daughter attended a secondary school in Sipitang.
He said he had previously went to their house in Sipitang, but found that Zara and her mother were no longer living there.
“I had also asked Zara several times during previous telephone conversations about where she lived and attended school, but Zara did not tell me.
“Therefore, at that time, I thought Zara might be at Sipitang Hospital,” he said.
However, after his father went to Sipitang Hospital, Mahathir said he was informed that Zara was not at the hospital.
He then tried to look for Zara at Beaufort Hospital, but emergency department counter staff informed him that Zara was not there either.
“I do not remember how I obtained the information that Zara was at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (HQE), whether it was from Zara’s mother or based on my own assumption.
“I do not remember whether Zara’s mother had told me or not. I rushed to HQE after learning that Zara was at the hospital,” he said.
