Use own mobile apps, ministry officials urged
PUTRAJAYA: Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau wants his ministry’s officials to use applications developed by their own agencies and departments.
Tangau said it was only apt that officers from the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) themselves use the applications, not just to boost their usage but also to encourage more people to use it as well.
He said the applications such as MyCuaca, which was developed by the Meteorological Services Department, and iDengue, a collaboration between Agensi Remote Sensing Malaysia (ARSM) and the Health Ministry, were available to download on smartphones.
“It is up to Mostians to prove to the public, especially the detractors who claim the applications are not useful and that they are not free.
“We need to tell the public that the applications were developed to disseminate important information so it would be defeating the purpose if the people are being charged for its usage,” said Tangau in his monthly address to the ministry at Dewan Seri Siantan here.
He reiterated that information relayed by the MyCuaca app would be very useful now that Malaysia was experiencing the wet season.
“MyCuaca provides an up-todate information on the weather and warnings are issued by the hours. It complement efforts taken by other government’s agencies on the ground,” he said.
Tangau said members of the public were also encouraged to download the iDengue app because the ARSM technology with data input from the Health Ministry would be able to identify places that have a high rate of dengue cases.
With this information, precautionary measures can be taken by the people when inside a high risk zone and, at the same time, efforts to eliminate the risk in that particular area can be doubled as well, he emphasised.
On another note, Tangau also urged Mostians to continue to be on their toes and ensure a high level of integrity.
“Maintaining a high level of integrity is important so that the people will continue to have confidence in our ministry,” he said.
Tangau also commended the organising secretariat of the inaugural National Innovation and Creative Economy (Nice) 2017 as well as all the agencies and departments involved in making it a success.
About 300,000 people were recorded to have visited the booths and more than 200,000 engagements on Nice 2017 have been registered on social media.
Tangau later presented certificates of appreciation to the organising secretariat members as well as the agencies and departments.