KUALA LUMPUR: Calls are mounting to boycott the use of the government's MySejahtera application, specifically on Twitter, under the hashtag #StopUsingMySejahtera.
This follows news reports that a private firm has taken over the application.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), during a hearing last Thursday, found that the private firm - My SJ Sdn Bhd - was appointed by the Health Ministry through direct negotiation after the Cabinet agreed to give up control of the application on Nov 26, 2021.
Earlier today, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim demanded the government to clarify the deal and questioned how the Health Ministry and MySJ Sdn Bhd would preserve data privacy.
This, he said, was because the application has garnered over 11 billion check-ins since December 2020, that contains details on users' personal preferences, consumption patterns and social networks.
The revelations have led many netizens to question the need to continue using MySejahtera and place their privacy under the scrutiny of a private entity.
Twitter user @jayjaydenis urged the public to stop using MySejahtera until the government fully gains control over the application.
"Is MySejahtera turning into MySpy?
"If so, we should stop using the app to check-in until @KKMPutrajaya (Health Ministry) takes full ownership instead of being handed to private individuals," he said.
Another user @yowchuan described the use of MySejahtera as "a travesty of basic human rights".
"Your private information should be in neither the government's nor the private sector's purview without your consent. The MySejahtera app is a travesty of basic human rights. #StopUsingMySejahtera," he tweeted today.
User @_hana_kilokilo said: "It is time to get rid of MySejahtera app. Our personal data should not be sold.
"After wasting a lot of taxpayers' money to develop (the app), why should they sell (the app) to a private company?"
Meanwhile, user @mazmanar urged the government to draw up an exit plan to discontinue the use of MySejahtera as Malaysia begins its transition to endemic phase in April.
"Hard to believe that private companies have altruistic intentions - likely to be the first step to commercialisation.
"What is the value and importance of this application now that we have moved into an endemic phase?
"There should be an exit plan for us to stop using MySejahtera," he said.