MUCH has been debated over the MySejahtera app. 

The health minister has stated that the data collected by the app belongs to the government and not a third party.

The minister also said that the app was built for free for the government of Malaysia by KPISoft as part of its corporate social responsibility.

On April 27, the Health Ministry announced that effective May 1, it is no longer mandatory to check in with the app.

The MySejahtera website says:

1. User’s check-in data is only stored for 90 days after which it is purged.
2. The app will not record user’s personal data except with permission. Information collected is used for monitoring and enforcement purposes by government agencies to control Covid-19 outbreaks. The information is not shared with other organisations for other purposes unless specifically stated.
3. The app collects anonymised data about your device and OS  to help improve the app and provide a better user experience.
4. Personal data collected will not be used for any purpose other than those mentioned above, unless required by law.

Based on what is stated on the website, check-in details prior to February 1 would have been purged.

Since the data are anonymised, the users are effectively unidentified.

Thus, if the users are faceless and the MySejahtera apps only have 90 days of history of each user, unless the data are stream mined, marketers will have a hard time building users’ profiles for targeted marketing.

Under these circumstance, does the app have value? 

If it is for monitoring and enforcement purposes for the control of Covid-19, after May 1, when check in is no longer mandatory, its use and effectiveness become limited.

And why the need to pay for the MySejahtera app when it was given free to the people/government of Malaysia in the first instance?

Any payment that needs to be made shall be only for the maintenance, upgrading and managing the apps for a certain time period post the expiry of the free period agreed upon between KPISoft and the government.

And why the rush for the Health Ministry to sign a new contract without waiting for the Public Accounts Committee’s report on the development and procurement of the MySejahtera app? 

In three days’ time, with the relaxation nearly all movement restrictions, it will no longer be a necessity for the health authorities to track and trace people. – April 29, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.
 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.