[UPDATED] Senate set to debate MySejahtera fiasco

KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Negara will debate MySejahtera’s ongoing controversy this afternoon, with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin allocated 30 minutes to address the upper house.

Senate President Tan Sri Rais Yatim, in approving a special motion proposing the matter be debated, said he agreed with proposer senator Muhammad Zahid Md Arip that the matter was of public importance.  

“I have gone through the motion and find that the holistic development around the issue is of a specific nature. I also agree that it is of public importance, because the matter involves data of millions of Malaysians that is stored in the system. 

“I am also satisfied that the matter needs to be expedited and therefore allow for the motion to be debated.”

Rais said Zahid will also be allocated 30 minutes to debate before Khairy responds, adding the motion was approved under Parliament Standing Order 17(3). 

When reading out his motion earlier, Zahid asserted that the issue requires immediate attention, as it involves matters concerning data security of Malaysians and on decisions made by the government along the way. 

“This matter needs an urgent and detailed explanation, because MySejahtera is the only platform that has been compulsory for everyone to use.

“The failure to provide answers to this controversy will only send out the wrong message to the people, and will only diminish and deform efforts to curb Covid-19,” said Zahid, before Rais approved the motion.

Khairy yesterday had announced the government was considering scrapping the contact tracing requirement, MySejahtera’s main function, after the Malaysian Medical Association called on the government to reconsider the use of the app.

Yesterday, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh said the committee would summon Khairy and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz over the development and acquisition of the MySejahtera application.

On Tuesday, Khairy said he had requested Rais to approve the special motion for the matter to be debated, saying there was no issue and that there was “nothing to hide”.

Controversy surrounding MySejahtera ignited following revelations within PAC’s Hansard released in Parliament last week, with questions raised over the true ownership status of the platform and data security of over 38 million users. – The Vibes, March 31, 2022