Respect Legal Process In Zara Qairina Case - Saifuddin Nasution

KAJANG, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has stressed that all parties must respect the legal process regarding the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir.

He said his ministry did not want to be involved in the polemic surrounding the teenage girl’s death, and would instead leave it entirely to the authorities to complete the investigation in accordance with the prescribed procedures.

“When an incident occurs, an investigation paper is opened. Once it is completed, it is handed over to the Attorney-General. That process must be respected... even if we say it is completed, it may not be perfect.

“I do not want to be involved in a polemic about whether the investigation paper is perfect or not,” he said at a press conference after officiating the closing ceremony of the i-DEEN Programme organised by the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) here, today.

He was commenting on calls to reopen the investigation into Zara Qairina’s death, including from her family and non-governmental organisations.

Saifuddin Nasution said the public must give space as the police had already conducted the investigation.

“If it is not yet completed, people will ask why it is taking so long. If we have completed it, the question arises – why so fast? (Claiming) there are still flaws, and all sorts of things. It will never end,” he said.

He added that it was normal for the Attorney-General to return the investigation paper to the police if there were defects that needed to be rectified.

He said this was a regular part of the investigation process between the police and the Attorney-General to ensure all aspects were complete before deciding to proceed with prosecution, especially in high-profile cases.

The legal team representing the mother of Zara Qairina today claimed that there were serious shortcomings in the investigation report submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

In a joint statement issued by lawyers Hamid Ismail and Shahlan Jufri, they described the scope of the investigation as too narrow and limited in focus, with several important aspects overlooked by the authorities.

Among the key issues raised was the failure to conduct a post-mortem on Zara Qairina’s remains before the burial process was carried out.

On the matter of job rotation, Saifuddin Nasution said it was a normal practice in the civil service aimed at enhancing service efficiency and strengthening the integrity of civil servants.

He said the move was not something new, as it had long been practised in the public service as part of human resource management.

“Job rotation is one of the methods identified as effective in reducing or addressing integrity issues. At the Home Ministry, we are open to this approach,” he said.

-- BERNAMA