MySejahtera app work of Malaysian firm based in US

Chan Kok Leong Ragananthini Vethasalam Chan Kok Leong, Ragananthini Vethasalam Updated 3 years ago · Published on 13 Jul 2020 11:40AM · 1 Comments

Anyone who downloads MySejahtera app can monitor the Covid-19 outbreak by assessing his own health risk. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, July 13, 2020.

THE developer of the MySejahtera contract-tracing app is Malaysian owned although the company was set up overseas, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said today.

We are using local expertise. KPI Soft is a company owned by Malaysians and is working together with Nacsa (National Cyber Security Agency) and Mampu (Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit),” he said during the ministers’ question and answer time in the Dewan Rakayat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Pandan-PH) on why the job was given to a foreign company instead of local companies.

Wan Azizah said this could have increased the risk of cyberattacks.

The company was set up in the United States and had a presence in Singapore, she said.

Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam-independent) in another supplementary question also asked Redzuan why development of the MySejahtera app was given to a foreign company instead of Malay-Muslim entrepreneurs, whose cause is often championed by the Perikatan Nasional government. 

“YB Simpang Renggam we have to be open minded. Just because the company was set up in the United States it doesn’t mean it belongs to the United States,” Redzuan replied.

Redzuan said the ecosystem in Malaysia may not be sufficient to harness local expertise. 

MySejahtera is an application developed by the government to assist monitoring of the Covid-19 outbreak by allowing users to assess their health risk.

Maszlee also asked about the firm’s tax jurisdiction while reiterating the failure of granting the job to a local company. 

Redzuan replied that there are thousands of Malaysian companies registered overseas belong to Malaysia.

“Let me summarise about being open minded to the former education minister (Maszlee). We have to be open and we always talk about globalisation and internationalisation of Malaysian companies.” 

Maszlee said internationalisation means taking Malaysian companies to the international stage instead of the other way around.  – July 13, 2020.

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Comments

  • We have very good tech companies in Malaysia, some are supplying softwares to international companies. When the government uses a foreign company to do the job, it is not only depriving our local companies of a contract that can create jobs for our unemployed but when we pay them our our msian currency is also leaving the country. This is not good for our weak economy. Redzuans explanation doesnt hold water.

    Posted 3 years ago by Elyse Gim · Reply