THERE are unanswered questions about MySejahtera app’s development, ownership and links among the companies involved, leading the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to consider an investigation into the matter, sources told The Malaysian Insight.

“There are several issues that need to be clarified on the government’s plan to take over the running of the MySejahtera app,” one PAC member said.

One of the issues is the discrepancy over how this takeover will be done. 

“On one hand, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said that the MySejahtera app has not been sold to a third party, but on the other hand, the proprietary rights to the app have been sold from the developer to another company.

“So, who is in charge?” the PAC member asked.

PAC members first have to discuss the issue with committee chairman, Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh, before deciding to commence a probe.

Another PAC member said on condition of anonymity that the committee has so far only heard the government’s side of the story on MySejahtera and needs to call the companies involved, Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd and MySJ Sdn Bhd, to explain the situation. 

“It is more so when the MySJ appears to be politically linked as one of the board members is a member of the government party (Perikatan Nasional),” the PAC member said, referring to Bersatu disciplinary board chairman Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas.

Two of Entomo’s co-founders also sit on the MySJ board – Raveenderen Ramamoothie and Anuar Rozhan – who were also the shareholders and founders of KPISoft, Entomo’s previous name and the company that developed the MySejahtera app.

The issue surfaced after health news website CodeBlue reported on transcripts of the PAC’s meeting on March 8 with officials from the Finance Ministry (MOF) and the Health Ministry (MOH).

The meeting, which focused on a different topic – the government’s follow-up to PAC’s recommendations for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout – yielded surprising new information about MySejahtera.

It was revealed that the app was developed without a proper contract, and that its developer had sold proprietary and software rights to another private company, MySJ, raising questions about MySejahtera’s ownership and the personal data of millions of users.

It was also revealed that among the MySJ board of directors were former Sapura chief executive officer Shahril Shamsuddin and former Umno-turned-Bersatu leader Megat Najmuddin.

It is now known that the app was developed by KPISoft Sdn Bhd, which then changed its name to Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd. 

A MOF officer told the PAC meeting that the app was now in the hands of MySJ, the company which the cabinet approved on November 26 last year to “receive” the MySejahtera app’s “system” developed by KPISoft.

PAC chairman Wong in the meeting questioned why and whether it was necessary for the cabinet to have appointed MySJ through direct negotiation.

He also said since it was known that KPISoft had developed the app for the government on a CSR (corporate social responsibility) basis, “they shouldn’t be charging and, even if we allow them to charge, they shouldn’t be selling the MySejahtera system to another company”.

Wong said in the transcript of the meeting that while companies want to make money, PAC was concerned with “what kind of process” was used.

“If you want to get a government contract, don’t go through back-door means,” he is also recorded saying in the PAC meeting transcript.

Yesterday, CodeBlue also reported court documents that traced the sale of intellectual property rights and software for the MySejahtera app from KPISoft (now Entomo) to MySJ.

It was revealed that Entomo sold the licensing rights to MySJ for RM338.6 million.

Entomo had also proposed that MySejahtera continue to be run through a public private partnership (PPP) service contract with the government for 15 years for a sum of RM138.9 million per annum, or a total of RM2.08 billion. 

According to CodeBlue, who obtained the information from court filings, 81.4% of MySJ is owned by another company, Revolusi Asia Sdn Bhd, of which 88% is owned by the Entomo founders.

On Sunday, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim questioned the government’s sale of the MySejahtera app to a private company without an open tender. Khairy subsequently replied that the government had not sold the app and that MOH was still its owner. MOH has also formed a MySejahtera Steering Committee, which Khairy chairs, to chart the app’s management and direction, and study the government’s takeover of the app.

Here is a timeline of what is known so far about MySejahtera’s development: 

March 27, 2020 – MOH agrees to let KPISoft Sdn Bhd (now Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd), develop MySejahtera on a CSR basis. CSR period to last until March 31, 2021.

Before selecting KPISoft, MOH had received 11 proposals from various companies, according to answers given by a MOH officer at the PAC meeting. KPISoft was eventually selected by a sub-committee comprising MOH and other agencies, and chaired by the National Security Council (NSC).

May 2020 – KPISoft informs the Companies Commission of Malaysia of its name change to Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd in May 2020.

October 6, 2020 – Entomo signs five-year licence agreement of MySejahtera to MySJ Sdn Bhd for RM338.6 million. Licence contract till December 31, 2025.

November or December 2020 – Entomo proposes a PPP model for the government to use MySejahtera for a 15-year contract till December 2026 with an annual cost of RM138.9 million (RM2.08 billion over 15 years).

May 21, 2021 – A MySJ shareholder, P2 Asset Management, says the NSC issued a letter agreeing to enter into a service contract with MySJ. This, said P2, is the same as a letter of award (LOA). 

(Separately, P2 Asset Management is suing MySJ, Entomo and another MySJ shareholder Revolusi Asia Sdn Bhd, with regard to the LOA and the resulting termination of a share sales agreement, which has affected the plaintiffs equity holdings in MySJ.)

September 21, 2021 – The prime minister says the government had started paying the developer of the MySejahtera app from April 1, 2021, after the CSR period. The quantum is to be decided by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, together with MOH, PPP Unit, Communications and Multimedia Ministry, National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and NSC.

November 26, 2021 – Government decides that the MySejahtera app is the property of the Malaysian government and that MOH is  the primary owner of the app. It also decides that MOH will set up a price negotiating committee for the procurement and management services for the app, for a period of two years. In effect, the government agrees to enter direct negotiations with MySJ, now the licensee for the app.

December 1, 2021 – PAC in a report suggests the government take over MySejahtera without incurring any costs, as it was developed as a CSR initiative.

March 8, 2022 – At a PAC hearing, MOF and MOH officials tell the committee that the government decided on November 26 last year to enter direct negotiations with MySJ to manage the app, subject to due diligence procedures by MOH.

A MOF officer also tells PAC that there was no proper contract for the development of the app, which was under the purview of Nacsa or NSC in 2020.

March 27, 2022 – Khairy states that the government has never sold the MySejahtera app to any private company and that MOH is the app’s primary owner. No money was paid to app developer KPISoft during the CSR period. Now, MOH is negotiating for the procurement and maintenance of the app for a period of two years.

March 28, 2022 – Khairy tells a press conference that MOH is negotiating with MySJ to pay “much lower than RM300 million”. – March 29, 2022.