THE appointment of KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd as MySejahtera developer did not follow procedures set by Putrajaya.

A daily news portal reported that Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh as saying that there were no minutes of meetings or supporting documents on the appointment of KPISoft, previously named Entomo.

“The only document in existence is a non-disclosure agreement signed by the National Security Council, on behalf of the government, and KPISoft,” the news portal quoted him from a statement.

Wong added that the government had guaranteed that its ownership of the app and that users’ data would not be abused, however, KPISoft had admitted that it owned MySejahtera’s intellectual property.

“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.

The PAC also found that the government had been confused about the firm’s appointment, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that the firm suggested, and the duration as well as ownership of the application.

Wong added that 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.

He also said the government made the right call when it rejected the developer’s proposal to commercialise the app, as doing so would jeopardise users’ private data.

However, he described the Finance Ministry’s allocation of RM196 million to procure MySejahtera over two years as exorbitant and went against the concept of CSR. — by TMR