An app-y time for connected citizens

I REFER to Shalini Ravindran and Oh Ing Yeen’s article, “App way to govern” (The Star, Dec 4), about the increased use of apps made available by local authorities to engage more readily with the public.

It is undeniable that the availability of mobile apps will certainly be handy for the public to engage with local authorities. This way, both parties – the local authorities and the public – can get equal benefits.

In the past, to report a complaint, the public would have to go through a long series of procedures which requires them to call the service hotline, send formal letters and forward emails. Sometimes, it may come to the point where the public have to call the respective units just to get an update.

With KL Cares and Aduan MPSJ, users can just lodge a complaint using the mobile app they have on their phone, anywhere and anytime.

Intelligent Response Selangor (i-RS) is an app where data on potholes reports is extracted from Waze Connected Citizens Program into the i-RS application. Single bumps are ignored, but if a bump gets recorded several times in the same place by different mobiles, then a road crew is sent to fill in the hole.

It is simple when you think about it. Through a mobile app, you can reach out to almost all citizens, whom you serve through a single platform.

Before the age of information technology, it was impossible to reach out to everyone because the local authorities couldn’t reach them through a PC or even a web-based solution because not everybody went on the Web. Well, only a minority would.

Natural disasters are unpredictable these days. The authorities have made an impressive effort to launch an app called CePAT with the primary objective to provide updates on disasters as well as the improved action taken by government agencies.

With Telegram as the platform, agencies like the Meteorological Department and Fire and Rescue Departments can deliver information on disasters faster and more efficiently so that response can be quicker and, most importantly, effective.

This app should be made user-friendly with notifications so that users are able to stay alerted of current updates.

Under such circumstances, apps made available for the public to make complaints or get updates on natural disasters will not just be handy but will also have a huge potential to save lives. I would like to urge the public to seize the opportunity being served to them wisely.