THERE is feedback that some individuals fully vaccinated under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme are still waiting for their vaccination status to be reflected in the MySejahtera app. There are also individuals who have been vaccinated under the Selangor state government’s Selvax programme and have not received their MySejahtera digital vaccination certificates. This delay in updates presents obstacles to affected individuals at workplaces that require employees to be fully vaccinated, e.g. restaurants. Yet-to-be updated vaccination statuses on MySejahtera are also problematic when it comes to enjoying privileges such as dining in and even buying groceries for those who are fully vaccinated.
Quick rectification of mistakes in updating MySejahtera vaccination information
There are cases of a person’s name or IC number being wrongly input into MySejahtera and/or in the digital vaccination certificate. These kinds of issues should be quickly resolved when a request is made via the Helpdesk function on the MySejahtera app.
Updating status of fully vaccinated individuals whose MySejahtera status cannot be changed at PPVs because someone else has ‘used’ or ‘registered’ their identities
Some foreigners have had their passports used to register another person for vaccination. This is akin to identity theft via MySejahtera.
Transferring vaccination certificates to dependents
Many adult children who have registered their parents as dependents would like to transfer digital vaccination certificates to their parents, especially those who do not live together or nearby. This should be done in a timely and transparent manner so that parents/dependents can enjoy the privileges of a fully vaccinated person.
Updating MySejahtera vaccination status based on overseas vaccination
The current procedure, which requires an individual to go to the nearest district health office, needs to be changed as it is cumbersome and impractical. It should be done through online verification and “interoperable” block-chain recognition where possible (in the case of Singapore for example, where we are supposed to have a mutual recognition system for digital vaccination certificates). The current process, which takes 4-5 weeks, is far too long and not practical. Proper standard operating procedures at the MySejahtera level should be put in place, instead of burdening the state or district health offices with another responsibility that can be better administered by non-health specialists.
Updating of MySejahtera status post-Covid-19 recovery
If an individual who has recovered from Covid-19 does not report his or her status daily, MySejahtera may still reflect their status as being positive even after 14 days of quarantine. This process should be streamlined such that individuals who do not update their status daily will receive a call from MySejahtera the next day. This process can be easily automated.
Allowing those returning from overseas to have shorter quarantine times or be allowed to quarantine at home if they are fully vaccinated
This requires faster processing by the Health Ministry and for the MySejahtera vaccination status to be updated more quickly. Allow those fully vaccinated to travel to countries with low number of cases for leisure, e.g. Singapore; this requires timely updating of the MySejahtera digital vaccination certificate.
Further ahead, we may want to consider issuing temporary vaccination certificates to tourists who have been fully vaccinated abroad, so that they can enjoy the same privileges as residents who have been fully vaccinated. This is one of the ways through which our tourism sector can be opened safely and securely to foreign tourists.
Increasing capacity of MySejahtera Helpdesk and Hotline, including use of technology such as artificial intelligence and chatbots
The increased economic activity resulting from a faster response rate to vaccination certification related issues will justify the additional funds spent on increasing MySejahtera capacity.
Establish clear KPIs for processing requests for MySejahtera, eg. x number of working days for processing overseas vaccination status. Once there is a critical mass of applications that have been processed and approved – automation can be applied to speed up and simplify the process.
Improving MySejahtera digital contact tracing to be able to trace at least 80% of all close contacts within 24 hours, provide better alert notifications of possible close contact immediately and advisory on next step of action
This should be part and parcel of the Find, Test, Trace, Isolate and Support national testing policy to ensure that the number of Covid-19 related cases remain low and under control when the full effect of the national vaccination programme is in place. – The Vibes, September 8, 2021
Ong Kian Ming is the MP for Bangi and assistant political education director for DAP. Kelvin Yii is the MP for Bandar Kuching
