Kota Kinabalu: Several individuals who claimed to be from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) allegedly approached Zara Qairina Mahathir’s stepsister, Malianah Mahathir, and tried to influence her testimony concerning her stepmother, the Coroner’s Court heard.
In answering questions from counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, the 81st deponent said the individuals did not directly ask her to change her testimony, but instead made suggestions aimed at ensuring her evidence did not blame or expose her stepmother, whom she referred to as Mama Zara.
Malianah said she was approached by several individuals after being brought by her father to meet them, while others contacted her by telephone.
Fikry: Before you gave evidence in court, had any party ever tried to influence your answers?Malianah: There was. I met several NGO people whom my father brought me to meet. They did not speak directly and say, “Oh, change your testimony,” no. They just spoke indirectly, like, “You know Mama Zara, don’t say things like this, we are like this,” because they took Mama Zara’s side.
Fikry: Can you explain further what you mean by “they asked me to change it”?Malianah: Not to change it, but they seemed like they wanted to strengthen my testimony so that it would not go as far as blaming Mama Zara. Like that. But they did not tell me, “You have to say this, you have to say this,” no.
Fikry: Who were these people? Can you name them?Malianah: Several people whom I had met and was brought by my father. Ena Awil, whom I met only one time. There were others whom I interacted with through the telephone. Mona Din, Dato’ Chin, I met him when I met Ena that time. Recently, I had a call with Joyce.
Fikry: Please explain to the court, when you met Ena, what did she suggest to you?Malianah: As I said, they did not directly tell me to change what I had said. What was it like asking me to twist back and change my sentences, no. They just asked me to think of an idea, so that my statement would not blame Mama Zara, would not expose Mama Zara’s shame. Because they also thought, how could it be changed when this was evidence that had already been taken by the police.
Fikry: You said Ena did not directly tell you to change it, but from what you understood, what did they want you to do?Malianah: What I understood was, if possible, they did not want to blame Mama Zara or expose Mama Zara’s shame. If possible, they did not want me to attend court. More or less like that.
Fikry: Then, who is Dato’ Chin?Malianah: I do not really know because it was my first time meeting him and that was the only time. After that, there was nothing more.
Fikry: What did he look like?Malianah: He was already old. We met once. He just asked, “What was your evidence to the police? Why did you get involved?” It was somewhat like questioning, more or less.
Fikry: Following the meetings and suggestions from the parties you mentioned earlier, what action did you take?Malianah: After I met Ena, sometime later Ena went viral. After that, I told Tuan Desmond that I had met her. Then I made a police report because she contacted me several times. She called, called, called, called me... And then Tuan Desmond told me to make a police report, and I made the report at Bukit Sentosa Police Station.
Fikry: Why did Ena contact you repeatedly?Malianah: Because I did not answer her calls. So, she wanted to talk over the phone; she did not want to use WhatsApp. I had already told her to use WhatsApp only, but she did not want to do so. In the end, she did not give and explain why she was contacting me. She did not tell me, as she just kept wanting to call but did not want to type it on WhatsApp.
Fikry: What was the content of the police report you made?Malianah: I was being harassed.
Fikry: What do you mean by being harassed?Malianah: Because she kept calling, calling like that. Then, several times at first, she started the conversation by asking how I was. Then there were questions about my statement.
Whereas actually, she was not entitled to know. She was not entitled to know because she was not anyone in this case. She was not a person with an interest in knowing. So, I felt that it was disturbing me. But at the same time, I did not want to completely ignore her chats like that; I also had to have some respect. So, I chose to make a police report as Tuan Desmond suggested.
When answering questions from Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan, she said that she had moved out of Mama Zara’s house before Zara was born.
She agreed that everything she knew about Zara did not come from Zara herself, but from others. She also agreed with the Coroner that she came to court on Tuesday to tell the court about her experience living with Mama Zara.
When asked by the Coroner whether her testimony was intended to bring shame or assist the court, Malianah said she was only answering questions from the police and was not trying to expose anyone’s shame.
She also told the court that during the period she lived with Mama Zara, her stepmother did not treat her badly every day.
