Lawyer confirms viral audio clips feature voice of Zara Qairina, mother

KOTA KINABALU – Lawyer Hamid Ismail, representing the family of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, has confirmed that three voice recordings circulating online, purportedly featuring phone conversations between the teenager and her mother, Noraidah Lamat, are authentic.

The viral audio clips, each about 44 seconds long, were widely shared on social media and shed light on Zara's fears for her safety, including her allegations of harassment by a group of senior students at her school.

In one of the recordings, the teenager can be heard expressing distress about a senior student referred to as “Kak M”, stating her anxiety over potentially encountering the individual.

“Mum, I’m scared to bump into Kak M. The other day I asked someone to check with her sister and Kak M said, ‘Yes, I still haven’t forgiven Zara’, Mum…” the voice believed to be Zara’s can be heard saying.

The clip also features the late student worrying about what might happen to her.

“What if she actually does something? The other day she said, ‘If I touch you, you’ll be bleeding’. If she does that, Mum, what will happen?,” she asked during the call.

Although the exact date of the recording was unclear, the content had been previously referenced in statements issued by Hamid and the family's other lawyer Shahlan Jufri.

In the third and fourth recordings, Zara described to her mother how her friend, Yasmin, was also a target of senior students’ harassment.

The third recording, lasting one minute and 36 seconds, recounted an incident where Yasmin was summoned to a Form Four classroom after being falsely accused of spreading rumours.

“Mum, don’t say anything… Kak M is here. You know the call I made last night, right? That same night, Yasmin was suddenly called to the Form Four class.

“Mum, she almost got ‘touched’ yesterday… Thank God I wasn’t called,” Zara said in a panicked tone.

She further explained that Yasmin was accused of spreading a rumour about a senior girl liking a male student, a claim Zara said was baseless.

“She was framed because they said Yasmin claimed Kak Minas liked a senior. Yasmin swore on the Quran that it wasn’t true,” Zara said.

The fourth recording, lasting nearly two minutes, continued the conversation about Yasmin. In it, Zara explained how students were left with no choice but to obey orders from senior students.

“Mum… how could she not go? The senior came straight to her class and told her, ‘Go upstairs now’. Then she followed her from behind. How could she run away?

“Yasmin followed… and as soon as she entered the classroom, she broke down crying. They were there for almost an hour,” Zara said.

Zara also expressed fear of confronting the seniors, saying she felt intimidated even by threatening glances.

“The other day she gave me a quick stare… and I was already scared,” she said.

The emotional exchanges between mother and daughter have gripped the nation since Zara's death was linked to bullying allegations at her school.

The Form One student was reported to have fallen from the third floor of a religious boarding school in Papar on 16 July. She died the following day at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital (HQEI) in Kota Kinabalu.

Her death has sparked widespread public outcry, especially online, with renewed demands for serious action against bullying in schools.