KITAJAGA, a digital social mobile app that rendered aid to poor Malaysians during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic, now has a new feature that allows people to find jobs. 

Reza Razali, founder of Terato Tech, developer of the Kitajaga app, said the feature was rolled out in March and has had a good response from employers. 

As the economy starts to recover post-pandemic, Reza said the new feature was introduced at the request of users, who wanted a permanent solution rather than a quick fix for their predicament. 

“Job was one of the things that people asked for. As we are approaching endemicity, people want something more sustainable. 

“So our users suggested we allow them to look for jobs instead of just looking for aid,” Reza told The Malaysian Insight. 

Reza said at the peak, more than 100 jobs were posted daily on the platform. 

He said most of the jobs are in the retail and food and beverage sectors.

“Most of the jobs posted are in the urban areas, like the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor. 

“At the moment we don’t track the figures as we have just rolled out the feature,” he said. 

Reza said the app continues to serve it original purpose – to help those who raise a white flag.

He said the app receives about 30 requests daily for aid.

He said most of the requests these days are from outside Klang Valley.

“Volunteers and civil society groups that we work with are still go out to give aid to people who have put up a white flag at home.

“During the peak of the pandemic, the appeals were mostly concentrated in the urban areas like the Klang Valley but now it’s mostly outside the urban areas, and spread all over,” he said. 

Reza said the initial plan was to run the KitaJaga platform, launched in July last year, for three months. 

However, Reza said due to demand and unforeseen events the platform will stay up, adding new features from time to time. 

“We initially had intended to shut the site in October (2021) but then we had the floods. So we decided to continue,” he said. 

Reza said it does not cost much to keep up the site.

“We cannot predict what will happen next. So we decided to keep the site up. 

“The upkeep does not cost a lot and if there is still a purpose for the site, people can still use it,” he said. 

Reza said that there is enough money to maintain the site.

Kitajaga last year launched a crowdfunding campaign on GlobalSadaqah.

According to KitaJaga’s official website, since its inception, it has raised more than RM100,000 to support the platform. 

Reza said the app has been downloaded more than 20,000 times and the website has had more than five million unique visitors. – June 19, 2022.