Khairy: Govt will not compromise confidentiality of MySejahtera user data, denies app is sold to private company

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has issued a statement following concerns raised about the ownership of MySejahtera. This came after a recent Public Accounts Committee hearing revealed that MySJ Sdn Bhd has been appointed through direct tender to manage the national contact tracing app.

According to Khairy, the government has not sold the MySejahtera app to any private company. On 26th November 2021, it was decided that the app will be owned by the government, with the Ministry of Health (MOH) as the main owner of the app which is used to manage national public health.

The government has also denied making any payments to KPISoft (M) Sdn Bhd, the original developer of MySejahtera throughout the duration of its usage between 27th March 2020 to 31st March 2021. Khairy said this is because the MySejahtera app was offered as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the company for a period of one year.

After the CSR period ends on 31st March 2021, the government has decided to continue the use of MySejahtera due to its robustness and dynamic capabilities. As a result, the government has continued its partnership with the company to implement several enhancements. In total, MySejahtera has more than 10 modules and there are more than 38 million registered users which include Malaysians, non-Malaysians as well as travellers.

Khairy added that on 26th November 2021, it was decided that the MOH will form a price negotiation committee consisting of relevant stakeholders to conduct procurement negotiations and service management of the MySejahtera app with the company for a period of two years in line with the government’s procurement procedures. The scope of the procurement and management of the app includes the operations of the MySejahtera platform, development of systems including additional modules, maintenance, management of central data and services provided by third parties including Google Map services and API, and SMS.

He added that the Ministry of Finance on 28th February 2022 has approved MOH’s request to complete its procurement for the management of the MySejahtera app. The negotiation process has already started and the MOH assures that it has done its due diligence to protect the interest of the government.

Khairy stresses that MySejahtara’s data is protected under the supervision of his ministry since the start of its release. He said all management of data will go through the data management process set by the MOH. This means all usage and management of the MySejahtera app will have to comply with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1998 (Act 342), Medical Act 1971 as well as international standards. He also emphasised that the MySejahtara data is not shared with any government agency or private parties.

The minister also explained all transaction data on MySejahtera are uploaded to the cloud server network daily which can only be accessed for the use of MySejahtera. Khairy said the data privacy of users is guaranteed and MOH will ensure that this aspect is not compromised. He hopes the public will continue using the app without any doubt or hesitation.

In the latest statement, Khairy didn’t provide any figures on the amount spent on MySejahtera after the CSR period by KPISoft ended on 31st March 2021. There’s also no mention of MySJ Sdn Bhd and its role to manage the app.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]

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