Rep: Why impose fine when MySejahtera not fully used for contact tracing?

 

Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran has questioned why Putrajaya’s MySejahtera phone application has not been fully utilised for contact tracing.

This was especially since the authorities were fining those who fail to register their personal details using the application when they enter any premises.

In a statement today, Rajiv said MySejahtera ought to alert users should they come into contact with a Covid-19 positive person.

“We scan and scan at every premise we enter, but how many have been notified that they have come into contact with a Covid-19 positive case and thus should report to a Klinik Kesihatan nearby to get tested?

“It is unlikely that this happens, as now even known closed contacts are not contacted to come in for testing, let alone a crowd that may have been in the same restaurant or bank branch as a positive patient,” he said.

Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran

The DAP lawmaker wondered how MySejahtera was using all the data collected from its users.

He further asked the government to “justify” why it was fining people for not using MySejahtera.

“Why the move to penalise people RM1,000 for not scanning MySejahtera and the decision to make it compulsory when clearly the system has not been utilised for what it was designed for - which is to identify close contacts and curb the spread?” Rajiv asked.

Tracing, testing and isolating Covid-19 close contacts is a key measure for successful containment of the disease, but must be done quickly to be effective.

Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak previously made a similar call for MySejahtera to be used for contact tracing by incorporating the Google/Apple Exposure Notification System (Gaen).

Gaen allows health authorities to build applications that facilitate Bluetooth-proximity based contact tracing and has features to help preserve privacy. Health authorities in more than 30 countries such as the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan have done so.

As of now, the Health Ministry has health inspectors assigned to contact individual Covid-19 patients by phone to perform contact tracing.

Malaysiakini reported in December 2020 that district health offices were overwhelmed and could not immediately reach thousands of Covid-19 close contacts each day. - Mkini