KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged all parties not to politicise the death of student Zara Qairina Mahathir, which has been linked to bullying, warning against using the tragedy as a political weapon.

He strongly condemned the act of exploiting the victim’s death to deceive and incite the public, calling it wholly unacceptable.

“With social media, we do exercise control, but there are limits. For example, recently, someone claiming to be a pathologist shared information that has poisoned the minds of millions. Even friends, spouses, and colleagues have come to me asking, ‘PM, what is this?’

“That young girl (Zara) has passed away, and now her death is being used as a political weapon to attack others. If it were based on truth, fine — but to manipulate someone’s death for lies and incitement like this is simply wrong,” he said during his address at the Prime Minister’s Department Monthly Assembly today, as reported by Berita Harian.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, and Director-General of Public Service Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.

While not ruling out the possibility of missteps in the handling of Zara Qairina’s case — including delays in the investigation process — Anwar assured that the authorities are working to resolve the issues as effectively as possible.