Anwar calls for probe on MySejahtera kerfuffle, urges Putrajaya to clarify status of public data
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called for the government to conduct an investigation into matters relating to the MySejahtera mobile application.
He said it was still unclear as to how the government was currently protecting Malaysians’ personal data stored in the Ministry of Health (MoH) Covid19 contact tracing app.
“Malaysians want to know where the data is stored? Is it stored in a secure environment with limited access?
“What mechanisms are in place to prevent third parties from accessing and stealing their data? What kind of protection do the people have to prevent the data from being misused which will result in them being persecuted, deceived and discriminated against?
“I now call for a comprehensive investigation by Parliament to be initiated to identify all matters involving MySejahtera to understand the concept of transparency and confidentiality of personal data,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP, cited a report whereby the health minister Khairy Jamaluddin reportedly said: “When I took over MoH, I decided to make sure that the management of the MySejahtera application was brought to the Health Ministry because I found that during the pandemic period, there was no contract between KPISoft and the government”. According to Anwar, this statement by the minister also meant that the negotiation contract with KPISoft (now called Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd), the company responsible for developing the application, only started when he took office in August 2021 – 16 months after it was launched.
“This means that for 16 months, the government together with KPISoft/Entomo regulated the use and data of the MySejahtera application without any agreement,” said Anwar.
He pointed out that right up to now, the question of the ownership of the MySejahtera mobile application and its data continued to be unclear despite attempts by the minister to explain it.