KOTA KINABALU: Former lawyer for Zara Qairina Mahathir’s mother, Hamid Ismail, has been appointed Judicial Commissioner along with two others.
The 49-year-old senior lawyer practised for 24 years, including running his own firm since 2004.
Over the years, he took on corruption, criminal and civil cases and notably represented former chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal during his Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) remand in 2017.
Hamid also represented PAS president Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang in a defamation suit filed by lawyer Marcel Jude, and served as lead counsel for Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, who was sued in his capacity as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia secretary-general by Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman at the end of 2023.
A former PAS deputy commissioner for Sabah, Hamid, also contested the Tanjung Aru state seat in both the 2013 and 2018 elections.
He was lead counsel for the late Zara Qairina’s legal team until the end of August 2025. His team was instrumental in applying for the investigation papers to be opened by Bukit Aman, the exhumation of Zara’s body for a post-mortem and the holding of an inquest to determine whether there was a criminal element in her death.
The two others who also received judicial appointments were Sessions Court judge Steve Ritikos and Sarawak-based lawyer Ratanah Devi Yusof Perumal.
Rizwandean M Borhan, who is now part of the legal team representing Zara Qairina’s mother, took the opportunity to congratulate Hamid, saying the appointment was well deserved.
“We want to record our appreciation for his effort, time and guidance since the beginning of this case, including ensuring a post-mortem was carried out and that a transparent investigation led to this inquest,” Rizwandean said.
