KUALA LUMPUR: A pop-up on Malaysia’s official transport app on Oct 1 sparked a wave of backlash after it announced users would have just nine days before having to use a relatively new national identification system to log into the app.moonrich88
Some netizens complained of getting errors while trying to register for MyDigital ID, which had been touted as a single sign-on system for online government services. The online identification system was launched in November last year.
Others highlighted the short lead time and urged the government to fix the registration process before “forcing” citizens to use the national ID for the MyJPJ app. The app lets users access Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ) services, including viewing and renewing drivers’ licences and road tax.
Sensing the public frustration, Transport Minister Anthony Loke hastily called for a press conference the very next day, announcing that authorities would scrap the Oct 10 deadline to ensure no further disruptions.
Mr Loke said that the pop-up was not an official announcement from his ministry or the JPJ, acknowledging that it could have caused public confusion.
He did not explain how a non-official announcement could have been released through what was essentially a government-sanctioned app.
The minister’s clarification raised “key questions” about public perception of policy oversight and communication within the government on its digitalisation efforts, Professor Mohd Said Bani CM Din, president of the Public Relations & Communications Association (PRCA) of Malaysia, told CNA.
“When a message appears on an official platform like the MyJPJ app, the perception and an accepted implication is that it would be an official policy stance,” he said.
The event is the latest in a series of recent string of reversals by the Malaysian government on policies with significant impact on the ground. Observers told CNA that this could risk eroding confidence in the current government and its public policy.moonrich88
Transport Minister Anthony Loke at a briefing about the MyJPJ and the MyDigital ID integration. (File photo: Facebook/Anthony Loke Siew Fook)