KUCHING, April 2: Bintulu MP Dato Seri Tiong King Sing has urged the Federal government to stop the use of MySejahtera to prevent intrusion into people’s personal data and security issues.
As Malaysia has begun transitioning to endemic phase with the country’s borders fully reopened, Tiong asked if the continuation of the use of MySejahtera app is still relevant.
While Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has repeatedly assured that personal data and information collected by the MySejahtera app will be protected and used only anonymously to mitigate the pandemic, Tiong said he himself and the rakyat remained highly skeptical on how it can be guaranteed.
“Where is the clause that guarantees this? From the start, Khairy has not been able to clearly state who holds the rights to MySejahtera since it was developed. Who owns MySJ Sdn Bhd? What’s the story on all the relationships and transactions behind MySJ?
“Khairy cannot continue to evade personal data security issues and questions by the public. He must clearly explain the ins and outs about the app, particularly the parts concerning the whole nation’s personal data, as it was discovered that even the ownership of that is not with the government.
“It may actually be the property of a certain company which owns the intellectual property rights and other pertinent information. If this is true, it is nothing less than selling the personal information of Malaysian people in secret and worse, some of this information even relates to national security,” Tiong said in a statement today.
Once this information fell into the hands of bad actors, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president asked how the government would handle the matter.
Tiong also agreed with Umno deputy president Dato Seri Utama Mohamad Hasan’s comment that if MySejahtera is owned by MySJ Sdn Bhd, then it is not owned by the government at all.
He opines that the developer and the party that owns the app are more likely to monitor users’ every move and even use their personal information for personal gain.
“There will be no privacy at all and worse, there is a risk of our personal information being exposed. After all, isn’t personal data one of the world’s most valuable commodities today?
“How exactly is Khairy ensuring that everyone’s personal information is safe and protected? He needs to come clean and stop beating around the bush,” he asserted.
According to Tiong, initially the MySejahtera app and vaccine rollout were matters under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
However, after Khairy took over the Health portfolio, all of these were rolled into one Ministry.
“I therefore appeal to the Federal government to discuss these matters in depth in the Cabinet and do not take it lightly. This issue has great ramifications on the personal privacy and safety of the whole country, including individual’s whereabouts and preferences as recorded in MySejahtera.
“The government has an absolute responsibility to prevent misuse of personal data by third parties with bad intentions. However, any time MPs raise questions on these matters in Parliament, they are met with vague and superficial answers.
“Do not abuse the people’s trust or the government system will become increasingly corrupt. If Khairy still cannot or will not clearly address these questions, he should resign and apologise to the people,” Tiong added.— DayakDaily
