Audit: MySejahtera’s SMS, Google Maps Services Procured Without Contract

The Auditor-General’s report found that the procurement for MySejahtera’s SMS service was done without a formal contract and no checks were undertaken to ensure that the invoices submitted by the app developer were in order.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 – The government had a responsibility to follow standard procurement procedures on services acquired for MySejahtera, according to a national audit, after payments were made for tech services that were acquired without a contract.

The Auditor-General’s 2021 report (Series 2), tabled in Parliament last Thursday, revealed an alarming disregard for due diligence and process in the procurement of a text message (SMS) service to send Covid-19 vaccination appointment notifications to MySejahtera users.

According to the report, the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) requested the National Security Council (MKN) and the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) to help send text messages (SMS) to individuals who had registered on vaksincovid.gov.my for appointments to take the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The audit found that the SMS service was not given to Company 508358-X (Dapat Vista (M) Sdn Bhd), an existing company that is responsible for managing text messages sent by the government. 

Instead, MKN ordered, via email, for MySejahtera developer KPISoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd (company registration number 700674-U) (currently known as Entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd) to carry out the vaccine appointment notification SMS service.

A check on the government’s meeting minutes (Minit Mesyuarat Penyelarasan Pembayaran Luar Kontrak Bagi Caj Perkhidmatan Google Maps and Places API dan SMS MySejahtera) on August 2, 2021, showed a decision was made to approve an out-of-contract payment for MySejahtera SMS service charges for the period until August 31, 2021.

The payment was made using the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation’s (MOSTI) existing provision under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).

A further audit revealed that MKN applied for a special exemption (out-of-contract payment) to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for making SMS service payments amounting to RM83,755.03 to KPISoft.

The payment amount is for service for the period between May 1 and July 31, 2021. The application by MKN was approved by MOF on November 26, 2021.

The approval was granted because the company had completed the service and the government had accepted it. However, MOF’s approval came with a warning as the procurement did not comply with government procedures and lacked proper documentation.

The procurement for the MySejahtera SMS service was done without a formal contract and no checks were done to ensure that the invoices submitted by the app developer were in order, the MOF said. The audit found that KPISoft had issued a lump sum invoice without any details on the exact charges or the amount of SMS charged.

KPISoft’s invoice charged a fee of RM20,086.06 in May 2021, RM11,819.92 in June 2021, and RM51,849.05 in July 2021.

In response to audit queries in October and December last year, NACSA explained that KPISoft was assigned to provide SMS alerts for MySejahtera to ensure the smooth running of the national vaccination programme as the latter is responsible for developing the app.

The request by CITF and MOSTI to have SMS notifications involved advanced payments made by KPISoft as KPISoft made use of SMS services from a cloud supplier company.

The invoice submitted by the cloud service company to KPISoft based on services rendered for the period from May 2021 to July 2021 led to a total sum of RM83,755.03.

MKN and the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) – the latter also oversees NACSA – took heed of the non-compliance warning that occurred when the country was in crisis and managing the Covid-19 pandemic. MKN and JPM said they would ensure that proper financial procedures are observed in future procurements and payments for any services.

Google Maps And Places API Initially Procured Without Contract

The AG report also found similar discrepancies in procuring services for Google Maps and Places Application Programming Interface (API), which first began in May 2020 as a hotspot tracker and to track health care facilities.

According to NACSA’s chief executive, the supplier company for Google Maps and Places API offered a free monthly credit of US$75,000 (RM332,437) from May 2020 until December 2020 in support of the government’s efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.

Subsequently, the supplier company increased the credit limit to US$160,000 and extended the offer period until September 2021. 

At one point, CITF’s top authorities decided that the addresses of all registered users in the MySejahtera app should be recorded using the Google Maps and Places API to ensure that the longitude and latitude data are equally recorded.

The audit said a discussion note (Nota Perbincangan Berhubung Pembayaran Google Maps and Places API) on April 22, 2021, stated that the use of Google Maps and Places API had gone over the credit limit offered by the supplier company, following the launch of the national vaccination programme.

As of March 5, 2021, the fees charged by the supplier provider amounted to more than RM1 million, with the figure expected to increase in line with the number of registered users on MySejahtera for Covid-19 vaccinations.

A discussion between NACSA, MKN and the supplier provider was held to get a discount.

The supplier company suggested that the service be included (on-board) as a Google Maps Premier Partner, in which a company identified by the supplier company as a Google Enterprise Partner will act as a service provider to the government.

The audit found that the Partnership Outline and Commercial Proposal had been signed by NACSA and Google Enterprise Partner (201624453C) on May 25, 2021. A check revealed that the company registration number belongs to Singapore-based OniGroup Pte Ltd. 

This agreement outlined the terms of service and costs involved for the services offered by Google Enterprise Partner (201624453C) to the government.

NACSA later explained that as Google Maps Premier Partner, the government gets volume-tier discounts for using Google Maps and Places API in the MySejahtera app, which reduced the service fees significantly.

In line with the signed agreement, MKN applied for a special exemption (out-of-contract payment) to the MOF on September 22, 2021, to pay Google Maps and Places API services for the period until August 31, 2021. 

The payment was made using MOSTI’s provision under PICK. However, the amount paid was not stated clearly. 

According to the payment order in the audit report, the combined service charges for “Google Maps Platform” from May 1 until October 31, 2021, and “Support and Services – Customer Success Services” from May 25, 2021, until May 24, 2022, amounted to RM949,048.49.

Overall, the national audit found that the procurement and payment process for both the SMS, and Google Maps and Places API services, were not satisfactory as they did not comply with proper procurement procedures.

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