Deputy minister denies wife linked to student's death, calls it slander

Deputy Higher Education Minister Mustapha Sakmud has denied that his wife was involved in the tragic death of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir in Papar two weeks ago.

According to the Sepanggar MP, his wife, Rosnih Nasir, only served as the principal of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha Limauan in Sabah between March and November last year before retiring.

“After her retirement, my wife did not have any involvement in the school administration either directly or indirectly.

“The tragic incident involving the late Zara occurred between July 16 and 17, 2025, which was nearly eight months after my wife’s retirement.

“Thus, any attempt to link her to this incident was a slander and a form of baseless political manipulation,” Mustapha (above) said.

The Sabah PKR chief then slammed Indera Mahkota MP Saifuddin Abdullah and Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan for trying to link him and his wife with the tragedy.

According to Mustapha, the attempt confused the rakyat and also smeared his wife’s reputation.

Yesterday, it was reported that several MPs had raised Zara’s death when debating the Education (Amendment) Bill 2025 at the Dewan Rakyat.

They demanded that authorities address questions surrounding the death of the student, who was said to have been a victim of bullying.

During this, Saifuddin had also sought the Education Ministry’s insight on claims that Zara’s school principal is related to a “VVIP”.

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