Appointment of MySejahtera developer didn’t follow procedure, says PAC
Published on: Tuesday, October 04, 2022
By: FMT
The Public Accounts Committee says the only document involving KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s appointment to develop the MySejahtera application was a non-disclosure agreement by the firm and the National Security Council.
PETALING JAYA: The appointment of KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd to develop the MySejahtera application did not follow procedures set by Putrajaya, says Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said there were no minutes of meetings or supporting documents on the appointment of KPISoft, previously named Entomo.
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“The only document in existence is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) signed by the National Security Council (MKN), on behalf of the government, and KPISoft,” he said in a statement.
Wong said while the government had guaranteed that it owned the app and its data would not be abused, KPISoft had admitted it was the owner of MySejahtera’s intellectual property (IP).
“The Cabinet’s decision to procure the app from the app developer goes to show that the app is, in principle, still owned by the developer,” he said.
Wong, the DAP MP for Ipoh Timor, said the PAC also found that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept for MySejahtera, suggested by KPISoft, had left the government unclear of the real direction in procuring the app.
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He said the government was confused about the firm’s appointment, the concept of CSR, and the duration as well as ownership of the application.
There was also no document stating that the CSR period would only be for a year.
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He said the CSR concept was perceived as being a mechanism to obtain a government project without going through the necessary procurement procedure.
“It is as though the government did not have any other option and had to appoint MySJ Sdn Bhd through direct negotiations. The development and continued use of the app should have remained as a CSR effort,” he said.
Wong said the developer did suggest commercialising the app, but Putrajaya made the right call in rejecting this proposal to protect users’ private data.
He said the finance ministry had set a RM196 million ceiling price to procure MySejahtera over two years, and maintained that this was exorbitant and went against the concept of CSR.
He said the government had yet to register the app’s IP under the Malaysian Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) as of April, warning that this could lead to the developer claiming ownership over MySejahtera.
‘Govt should take over MySejahtera app’
The PAC urged Putrajaya to review its decision to conduct direct negotiations with MySJ for the transfer of the application system from KPISoft. This was decided by the Cabinet on Nov 26, 2021.
Instead, it said, the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) could take over the app’s development and operations as it had the expertise.
Wong urged the government to be more prudent in procurements, saying the terms of CSR offers must be clearly stated and cannot be made as an “alternative route” to direct negotiations.
He also called for the government to set guidelines for CSR offers.
The PAC maintained that Putrajaya must retain full ownership of MySejahtera, which can continue to be used in digitising the public healthcare service, while ensuring the security of users’ data.
The committee had summoned health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Treasury secretary-general Asri Hamidon, health ministry secretary-general HS Harjeet Singh and MKN director-general Rodzi Md Saad, among others.
Its full report may be found here.
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