https://www.scmp.com/rss/522197/feed The latest news and top stories on Zara Qairina Mahathir. Known for the controversial circumstances surrounding her death, she was a 13-year-old student at a religious school in Sabah. Her death on July 17, 2025, following an incident at her school dormitory, sparked public concern and allegations of bullying and foul play. Her family suspects a cover-up, citing unclear circumstances and the initial lack of a post-mortem examination. Police have completed their investigation, though her family’s... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof From engaging with the world’s most powerful leaders, infighting within the ruling party, and cases of horrific school violence, to a murder probe involving a controversial rapper. Malaysia was a regional powerhouse that punched above its weight even as it faced pressing challenges in domestic politics this year. Here are the most widely read Malaysia stories This Week in Asia covered in 2025: Diplomatic wins In a year when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim chairs Asean, Malaysia played host to world... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337868/trumps-dance-najibs-1mdb-saga-influencer-case-malaysia-leads-asean-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337868/trumps-dance-najibs-1mdb-saga-influencer-case-malaysia-leads-asean-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 05:00:09 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A Malaysian court charged a 14-year-old boy with the murder of a 16-year-old schoolmate on Wednesday, in a case that has stunned the nation and raised pressing concerns about violence among its children. The teenager appeared before the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court at 10am, where the charge was read aloud by Judge Amira Sariaty Zainal. Proceedings were held behind closed doors under Malaysia’s Child Act 2001, which protects the identities of minors involved in criminal cases. But court... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3329885/malaysian-boy-14-charged-murder-yap-shing-xiuen-his-16-year-old-schoolmate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3329885/malaysian-boy-14-charged-murder-yap-shing-xiuen-his-16-year-old-schoolmate?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:40:35 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Police officers might be deployed in all schools and children aged 16 and below could be banned from using smartphones, Malaysia’s government said on Friday, after a string of violent crimes and bullying involving students that shocked the nation and forced the education ministry to admit to a culture of cover-up. Two cases of gang rape and a murder in three schools in the past fortnight have fuelled parents’ fears for their children’s safety and raised public concerns over a lack of official... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3329373/malaysias-rape-and-murder-cases-schools-spur-calls-end-cover-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3329373/malaysias-rape-and-murder-cases-schools-spur-calls-end-cover-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 07:00:27 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan The revelation of a second alleged gang rape in a Malaysian school has heaped pressure on the education ministry to get to grips with alleged failures in child protection, especially after mounting speculation that videos of the sexual assaults are being sold over the dark web. Eight teenage boys have been arrested by police in two separate cases over the past fortnight. In both cases, the suspects were caught after videos of the alleged rape were discovered by teachers in their schools. In the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329224/4-arrested-second-malaysian-school-gang-rape-total-failure-protect-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329224/4-arrested-second-malaysian-school-gang-rape-total-failure-protect-children?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 07:10:25 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi A prank known as “Happy Corner” that originated in China has made its way to Malaysia, triggering student suspensions in schools determined to show they are getting tough on bullying after a string of scandals. Happy Corner, also called aluba in Taiwan, is a prank or form of hazing common among boys in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan that started in the 1980s. It typically involves several boys lifting up an unsuspecting victim and bumping his groin against a pole-like object. A... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3326944/malaysian-students-taught-painful-lesson-happy-corner-prank-amid-bullying-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3326944/malaysian-students-taught-painful-lesson-happy-corner-prank-amid-bullying-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 05:39:02 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Hadi Azmi Joseph Sipalan,Hadi Azmi The guilt hangs heavily over Jerry* whenever his mind drifts back to his school days in Kota Kinabalu and that quiet “awkward kid” he once tormented. Sitting at the back of the classroom, the boy was an easy target for Jerry and his friends, who delighted in humiliating him by stealing his shoes, tugging down his trousers or meting out the occasional beating. They were only 12, behaving as children do, he once thought. But more than two decades later, Jerry feels the weight of what those moments... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3324538/malaysia-forced-confront-its-fatal-school-bullying-problem-after-zaras-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3324538/malaysia-forced-confront-its-fatal-school-bullying-problem-after-zaras-death?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:13 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi A Malaysian court on Thursday ordered 12 minors to indefinite juvenile detention and sentenced a 20-year-old man to life in jail over the murder of a 17-year-old student at a vocational college. Nazmie Aizzat Narul Azwan was found dead on the floor of his dormitory in the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah on March 22 last year after being beaten up by the 13 assailants, allegedly over missing money. The case is one of several fatal bullying cases in Malaysian schools and colleges that have shocked... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323512/bullying-malaysia-13-face-life-behind-bars-over-brutal-dormitory-murder-schoolboy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3323512/bullying-malaysia-13-face-life-behind-bars-over-brutal-dormitory-murder-schoolboy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 10:13:11 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘We’ll be Taliban soon’: Malaysian state to jail Muslims for skipping prayers Malaysia’s Terengganu state has warned it will start fully enforcing a sharia law enabling the imprisonment of Muslim men for up to two years if they skip Friday prayers without a valid reason... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3323151/malaysian-state-jail-muslims-skipping-prayers-indias-tax-cuts-7-asia-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3323151/malaysian-state-jail-muslims-skipping-prayers-indias-tax-cuts-7-asia-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 04:45:45 +0000 Letters Letters With Taiwan’s recall campaign, South Korea’s political upheaval and the growing influence of right-wing forces in Japan, it’s clear that people across Asia are grappling with uncertainties. A glimpse of the solution for them might be found right in my dorm’s common room. The gatherings here look like a scene from a school brochure: we’re not only racially diverse, we also represent three continents, five religions, the full spectrum of political beliefs and a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3322772/lets-not-agree-disagree-productive-disagreement-what-world-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3322772/lets-not-agree-disagree-productive-disagreement-what-world-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Aug 2025 03:30:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Five teenagers were charged on Wednesday with bullying Malaysian schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose death has seen an outpouring of grief across the nation and triggered a movement against a pernicious bullying culture in the education system. Zara, 13, died in hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious on the ground outside her dormitory at an Islamic boarding school in Papar, a district in the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah. The suspects were charged with “making... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3322485/5-malaysian-teenagers-accused-bullying-zara-plead-not-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3322485/5-malaysian-teenagers-accused-bullying-zara-plead-not-guilty?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:09:38 +0000 Hadi Azmi,Aidan Jones Hadi Azmi,Aidan Jones Malaysia’s top prosecutor on Monday said bullying charges would be brought against five people under the age of 18 following the death of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose case was closed and then reopened by police. Her death on July 17, a day after she was found on the ground outside her dormitory at an Islamic school in Sabah’s Papar district, has sparked nationwide protests as many Malaysians demand an end to a culture of bullying in the education system. Police initially closed the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3322222/malaysia-prosecutes-several-suspects-over-zaras-death-file-bullying-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3322222/malaysia-prosecutes-several-suspects-over-zaras-death-file-bullying-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 08:54:29 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan The death of Zara Qairina Mahathir appears to have triggered something in Malaysians, as thousands took to the streets in rare protests in her home state of Sabah, demanding justice for the 13-year-old girl. Zara Qairina died in hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in front of a dormitory at her boarding school in Papar district. The initial response to her death was rather muted. Police said that she had likely fallen to her death from the three-storey building and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3321892/stop-blame-game-malaysia-over-zaras-death-let-justice-take-its-course?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3321892/stop-blame-game-malaysia-over-zaras-death-let-justice-take-its-course?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 02:30:08 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi Malaysians call for prosecutors to press charges over the case of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir, after police said they found evidence of bullying in the reopened investigation into her death. Zara died on July 17 after she fell from the third floor of her Islamic school dormitory in the Papar district in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. Her death sparked an uproar, with rumours of foul play and cover ups fanning existing anger at a perceived culture of impunity and a justice system bent... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321815/malaysians-call-zaras-bullies-be-charged-after-new-evidence-uncovered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3321815/malaysians-call-zaras-bullies-be-charged-after-new-evidence-uncovered?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 05:27:05 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification It is tragic that it took a fatal accident involving an 80-year-old driver to get to this point. However, I am glad that the government is finally returning to the proposal to tighten drivers’... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3321547/eyesight-tests-hong-kong-drivers-seriously-need-be-updated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3321547/eyesight-tests-hong-kong-drivers-seriously-need-be-updated?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 03:30:09 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi Malaysia’s attorney general late on Friday ordered police to exhume the remains of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir as hundreds gathered across three cities in Sabah demanding justice. Zara died on July 17 after she was found outside a dormitory at her Islamic school in Sabah’s Papar district. Police initially said she was believed to have fallen from the third floor of the building. But her family have raised doubts over the cause of death, alleging police failed to thoroughly collect... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321277/malaysia-orders-zaras-body-be-exhumed-questions-mount-over-students-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3321277/malaysia-orders-zaras-body-be-exhumed-questions-mount-over-students-death?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 14:43:41 +0000