PUTRAJAYA’S decision on the development and procurement of the country’s contact tracing mobile app MySejahtera went against standard procedure, the Public Account Committee (PAC) report revealed today.

Among the eight findings by PAC, the appointment of KPISoft (Entomo) in March 2020 as MySejahtera developers, was found to be irregular and against government procurement procedure.

“There are no minutes or supporting documents that exist regarding the appointment.

“The only document is the non-disclosure agreement signed between National Security Council (on behalf of the government) and KPISoft,” PAC chairman Wong Koh Woh said today.

PAC will table the report in the Dewan Rakyat today. 

In the two proceedings held on April 14 and 21 respectively, the committee had called eight witnesses, including Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz. 

The PAC findings also showed that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept proposed by KPISoft (Entomo) had resulted in a lack of clarity on the government’s side on the direction of the acquisition of the app.

It said that the government was “confused” in terms of the appointment of KPISoft, the concept of CSR, its duration and the ownership of the app.

“The concept of CSR is seen to have been used as a mechanism to obtain government projects without going through proper procurement procedure,” Wong, who is also the Ipoh Timor MP, said in a statement today. 

“There are no documents that state that the CSR is for a year-long duration. 

“The government seemed to have no choice and had to make a decision to appoint MySJ Sdn Bhd by direct negotiation. 

“By right, the continued development and use of the app should remain as CSR,” he added. 

The report also revealed that the Finance Ministry has set a ceiling price of RM196 million for the acquisition of MySejahtera for a two-year period, which equals to RM98 million per year. 

Wong said this amount is high and contradicts the concept of CSR. 

Among the positive findings were the decision by the government to reject the proposal to commercialise the app. 

Wong said that the company had suggested commercialising the app but Wong said the government’s decision to reject the proposal is justified in order to ensure the security of users’ personal data is protected. 

“The government has given a guarantee that the data in the app is safe and will not be misused,” he said.

Despite the government reiterating its claim to be the owners of MySejahtera, Wong said that KPISoft was found to have made a certificate as the intellectual property owner of MySejahtera.

Wong said that as of April, the government had yet to register the intellectual property for MySejahtera on MyIPO, which he said may allow the developer to claim the ownership of the app.

Wong also said that the acquisition of MySejahtera can be carried out by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), which has the expertise and capabilities. 

The PAC further recommended four actions for the government, among which to review the fairness of awarding the contract through direct negotiation made via a cabinet decision on November 26, 2021. He reiterated his call for Mampu to take over the app.

He also said the government needs to take a more prudent approach in all procurement processes. 

“All offers through CSR are welcome. However, the term related to the CSR offer should be clearly stipulated and should not be used as an alternative way for direct negotiation.

“Guidelines should be established for the governance of CSR offerings,” he said. 

Wong also said that the government should ensure it has full ownership of the app and that it needs to guarantee the data of users are not misused. 

He added that the government needs to continue its efforts to make MySejahtera a national public health management tool in line with the digitalisation plan for health services. – October 4, 2022.