KUALA LUMPUR – It took all of two weeks from the start of negotiation with the government for the developer of the MySejahtera app to formalise approval to build the system monitoring the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is based on findings by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following its investigation into the development and procurement process of MySejahtera.
In its report released today, PAC noted that the developer, KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd (previously known as Entomo), had begun discussions on the matter with the Health Ministry on March 19, 2020, just a day after Malaysia was placed under the movement control order (MCO).
The matter was confirmed through testimony by Hanissul Jalis Md Yusof, the director of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit’s (Mampu) application development division, during a PAC proceeding on April 21 this year.
According to Hanissul Jalis, KPISoft had presented its proposal to the ministry for a Covid-19 outbreak management system.
PAC noted that following the meeting, KPISoft had made a formal proposal to the NSC to develop the system, with a letter sent to the council’s director-general Datuk Mohd Rabin Basir on March 24, 2020 to express its interest.
Parts of the letter, which was included in the PAC’s report, highlighted how the company had sought the NSC to accept its offer to assist the government in addressing the pandemic, and said that its app will be developed as part of a corporate social responsibility.
PAC then pointed out that Rabin had replied to KPISoft just three days later, informing the firm that the NSC “welcomes” its offer to build the system.
The committee added that based on a separate testimony by Shariffah Rashidah Syed Othman, a senior assistant director at the National Cyber Security Agency, the decision to pick KPISoft was based on consensus made during a Digital Enablement Taskforce (DET) meeting.
The DET was established on March 23, 2020, just a day after KPISoft sent its letter to the NSC to obtain approval to develop MySejahtera.
“Discussions under the DET had taken into consideration the assessment made by Mampu that the system proposed by KPISoft is seen as capable of managing the Covid-19 pandemic,” Shariffah Rashidah said.
She added that the expedition of discussions and decision-making processes was due to the need for urgency to address the pandemic at the time, taking into account the emergence of several Covid-19 clusters and rise in mortality rates.
According to Shariffah Rashidah, KPISoft was understood to be the sole company involved in negotiations with the government agencies.
PAC, however, said it was unable to obtain minutes or supporting documents pertaining to the appointment of KPISoft to develop MySejahtera, and that witnesses called in for questioning were also unable to provide clear explanation on who gave the approval for the appointment.
The committee added that on April 1, 2020, the cabinet had taken note of the decision on the development of the application, and that on the same day, a non-disclosure agreement between NSC and KPISoft was signed.
“On April 5, 2020, a cabinet meeting on the implementation of the MCO agreed that MySejahtera be used to monitor the Covid-19 outbreak in red zones.”
Separately, PAC found that the Finance Ministry was never informed on the approval granted to KPISoft, with its minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz confirming to the committee that the matter has never reached the ministry. – The Vibes, October 4, 2022
