KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 9 -- The deaths of Zara Qairina Mahathir and Yap Shing Xuen have highlighted shortcomings in school safety measures, prompting renewed calls for reform.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the two incidents marked a critical turning point in efforts to strengthen school security nationwide.

Zara Qairina, 13, was confirmed to have died at Hospital Queen Elizabeth in Kota Kinabalu on July 17, 2025, a day after she was found unconscious near her school hostel.

On October 22, 2025, a male student was charged with stabbing 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen to death at a secondary school in Bandar Utama.

Astro Awani reported that findings from the 2025 student and hostel safety audit by the Inspectorate, which covered 850 sch...