The latest information to come out on the MySejahtera scandal is that the company with which the government is negotiating to continue the services of the app, MySJ, agreed to pay RM338.6 million for the rights to the intellectual property associated with the app in October 2020. The intellectual property and software licensing scheme will last for some five years.
According to the report in Code Blue, the app developer is Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (formerly KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd). The information comes from court documents whereby P2 Asset Management Sdn Bhd, a MySJ shareholder, in an action dated Nov 24 last year is suing Entomo, Revolusi Asia Sdn Bhd (another MySJ shareholder) and MySJ for alleged breach of a share sale agreement.
So the government has no plans to sell the MySejahtera app to the private sector, according to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. The latest development predates his statement, but obviously something is terribly wrong.
While Khairy has taken the political stance to refute opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s statement that a sale was made, the fact remains that a contract is being directly negotiated for the continued provision of services for the app.
Now, we know why the government is not selling the MySejahtera app - it does not own the intellectual rights to be able to sell it anyway but MySJ is buying it and the government is apparently paying it to buy it from the original developer, now called Entomo, plus of course the usual margin. This is a classic case of middlemen patronage business and politics. - P.Gunasegaram,mk
MySejahtera...
With effect from 1st April 2021 onwards Putrajaya must retrospectively pay MySJ Sdn Bhd for the MySejahtera app usage, until and unless Putrajaya decides to use a similar software from another vendor. The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim wants the government to explain the sale of MySejahtera apps to a private company.
Khairy said he decided to regularise the MySejahtera application and the need for a contract to be signed jointly between the government and the company managing the platform.The government is negotiating with license holder MySJ Sdn Bhd on the subscription terms of the MySejahtera application.
Of all the personal databases compiled via apps in Malaysia encompassing a variety of purposes, like mobile phone access, etc, the MySejahtera database is arguably the most complete representation of the nation's demographics.
Imagine the treasure trove of private information contained therein which can be exploited and profited by a private company.
Khairy have meanwhile clarified that the database will still be in the hands of MOH, but can we trust him on this assurance when disclosure on MySJ Sdn Bhd only became evident after four months! - Sharifuddin Abdul Latiff
Man once locked up for MySejahtera
tweet enraged by latest news on app...
In June 2021, a man’s home was raided, he was arrested and spent a night in the lock-up for a tweet about MySejahtera funding.The arrest under the Emergency Ordinance, which was then in place, was for causing public unrest.
The tweet, which landed him in hot water, was one which stated that the RM70 million budget was not for MySejahtera but to pay for a contractor managing the vaccine rollout.
As MySejahtera funding and ownership issues relating to it hit headlines again, the man read the news enraged.
“I am angry because I spent a day in lockup last year and lost my handphone, modem and router (which were held) for months, because I questioned something which the news now shows is true,” he said in a Tweet yesterday.
The 37-year-old, who works in the IT industry, was never identified by police in its statement on his arrest or in any subsequent news reports. He was only identified by his Twitter handle at the time - Abah@ChairmanGLC.
Declining to be identified again, when speaking to Malaysiakini today, he said the recent news made him consider taking legal action against the authorities.
“I want to (take legal action). But I don’t have the time and energy to do it,” he said.
The news last weekend, however, did not touch on the developments for the vaccine rollout or what the contractor tasked to do so, as per the tweet that landed the man in trouble.
Instead, it was about how MySejahtera was developed without a proper contract in place, and how the government is only now negotiating to procure the application.
This was based on the Public Accounts Committee proceedings last week. Even so, the man believes it vindicates him.
“The weekend news was that RM70 million wasn’t used for the development of MySejahtera and its portal. Which was what I tweeted in the first place,” he said.
'If we don't speak up for us, who will?'
To date, the case has been classified as “no further action” by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, while the items seized have been returned. But he can no longer use the phone, he said, because the authorities had done something to the operating system in the course of their investigation, rendering it unusable.
His Twitter account was also suspended and the contents, which were largely critical of the government, have been wiped. Since his release, he has returned to Twitter, with a similar handle, and continues to tweet critically about government policies.
“At first, I was afraid (to go back to tweeting), but if we don’t speak up because we are scared, then who can do so on our behalf?
“When I was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance, there were others hauled up for the same matter but I was the only one who was locked up.
“I knew then that I had hit a nerve and there was some truth to what I said,” he said.
Among those who were investigated last June over comments about MySejahtera was Galen Centre for Health and Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib. The think tank’s chief was questioned by police over a November 2020 tweet expressing concern over the protection of data obtained and managed through MySejahtera.
The case is still pending and his seized handphone is still in police possession, Azrul shared in a Twitter exchange with the man yesterday. He also said he has not heard from the authorities over the matter since last year and is not keen to follow up.
‘Sue them!’
About 24 hours since the man tweeted about his anger, his post has been retweeted more than 2,000 times and liked more than 5,000 times. It is gaining similar traction as the post which landed him in the police lock-up.
Largely, netizens responding to him urged him to take the authorities to court while others asked if he needed funds to take legal action.
Clamouring for “justice”, one person said: “Sue them! Sue them for defamation, to make this case an example, and because of your distress and disrupting your work and daily life.”
News that MySejahtera was developed by a private party without a proper contract with the government has raised concern over data protection.
Yesterday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured that only the Health Ministry has access to the data obtained through MySejahtera.
As part of Covid-19 control measures, Malaysians must check in at premises visited using the MySejahtera app.
However, many have questioned the need for this since the data has not been used for contact tracing in individual cases. - Aidila Razak,mk
cheers.
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