KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) wants the government to guarantee that data gathered in the MySejahtera application will not be used for commercial purposes without the consent of its users.
According to Muda's executive committee member Lim Wei Jiet, a report by CodeBlue on Monday (March 28) had revealed that in October 2020, Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (previously known as KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd) had licensed the software application of MySejahtera which it developed to an entity called MySJ Sdn Bhd, until 2025 for RM338.6 million.
“This raises [the] question that touches on the personal data of millions of Malaysians as well as businesses that use the MySejahtera app.
“Firstly, it contradicts the Health Ministry's statement on Sunday that says the MySejahtera app is owned by the government. The fact that Entomo Malaysia has the right to license the software of MySejahtera clearly shows that it is the owner of the app, and not the Malaysian government. This raises concerns about whether the Malaysian government could control and ensure the personal data of millions of Malaysians and businesses in MySejahtera is not accessed by third parties,” Lim said in a statement.
Secondly, Lim said it is reasonable to assume that following the contract of RM338.6 million, there is a high probability that the MySejahtera app would be used for commercial purposes.
"It is unlikely that a private company will pay another private company RM338.6 million if there is no plan to use the application (and the personal data collected) for profit generation,” he said.
According to Lim, the question then arises of whether the database from MySejahtera would be used to devise a plan and strategy for the following purposes (as outlined by the CodeBlue report), namely: digital health, digital commerce and digital payments.
He also asked whether consumers (up to 38 million people) should give their consent first, before the data is used.
“Is all this in line with the principles of data protection under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010?” Lim, who is also a lawyer, asked.
“Muda hopes the government could explain on the issues raised above, and guarantee that the personal data of the MySejahtera users would not be used for commercial purposes of a private company without the consent of the consumers,” he added.
Lim said the party did not wish to point fingers at anyone, but Malaysians are entitled to get answers on the questions raised.
“It is vital for Malaysians to have confidence that their personal data is protected and respected when using the MySejahtera app. If there is a trust deficiency, it would directly affect any public health initiative by the government in the near future,” Lim said.
Code Blue reported that according to court documents, the developer of the MySejahtera app had agreed to transfer the app’s intellectual property and software licence to MySJ Sdn Bhd for RM338.6 million in a deal that will last until 2025.
It said that P2 Asset Management Sdn Bhd, a MySJ shareholder, is suing MySejahtera developer Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Revolusi Asia Sdn Bhd (another MySJ shareholder), and MySJ for alleged breach of a share sale agreement.
According to the statement of claim by P2 Asset Management, filed at the High Court here last Nov 24, MySJ entered into a license agreement with Entomo Malaysia on Oct 6, 2020.
“The license agreement stated that Entomo Malaysia is to transfer the intellectual property of the MySejahtera mobile app to MySJ and to grant MySJ the licence for the software, for which MySJ is to pay Entomo Malaysia RM338.6 million,” the statement of claim said.
A hearing of the case is fixed on Thursday (March 31).
On Sunday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government has never sold the MySejahtera app to any private company and it remains government-owned.
Khairy said this was as per the government’s decision on Nov 26 last year that the Health Ministry was appointed as the app’s main owner for the country’s public health management.
“MySejahtera data is under the ministry’s supervision since it was first used with all data management undergoing a data administration process set by the ministry,” he said in a statement on Sunday (March 27).