KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor and PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar separately met Zara Qairina Mahathir's mother, Noraidah Lamat, to convey their condolences and sympathies.
Hajiji, his wife Datin Seri Juliah Salag and Welfare Association of Sabah State Assemblyman's Wives (Mutiara GRS), met with Noraidah at the Chief Minister's official residence Seri Gaya here on Wednesday (Aug 13).
“On behalf of the State Government, I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of the deceased. We pray that the family will be given strength to face this challenge,” Hajiji said.
Juliah, on the other hand, said she could understand the feelings of Zara Qairina's mother, who has lost a beloved child.
“The safety of children, especially boarding school students, must be prioritised to prevent tragedies like this from recurring,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Nurul Izzah said she finally met Zara Qairina's mother on Wednesday (Aug 13) to personally convey her condolences after she failed to meet her when she was in Kota Kinabalu about two weeks ago.
"Which mother would not be sad to see her child go and never return? As a mother, I truly feel the grief that Zara's mother endures. Like any other mother, she would have just wanted to see Zara grow up normally, healthy, and happy.
"Zara is like all of our children. She was polite, had moral values, and was a person who firmly adhered to religious teachings. Zara's passing has united us all across borders and differences," she wrote.
Nurul Izzah assured Noraidah that she will continue to monitor and follow the developments in Zara Qairina's case closely.
"It is our shared responsibility to continue to recognise, protect, and ensure that tragedies like this do not happen again," she wrote.
Nurul Izzah was accompanied by the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew when she met Noraidah.
