KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Business outlets must use the government’s MySejahtera application as its contact tracing method for their patrons and customers, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today.

The defence minister said in his press briefing that the Attorney General’s Chambers will also be gazetting the mandatory use of the application, although other applications can still be used alongside it.

"Many more apps are being used now. I went to a shopping complex yesterday and I used the MySejahtera app. However, the place did not have the MySejahtera app, but some other app.

"So I could not register and had to do it manually by hand. So the Special Ministerial Committee Meeting has decided that each and every outlet and business premises must use the MySejahtera app,” he said.

Ismail Sabri said that exceptions to this rule would only apply to areas with poor internet connectivity, such as in rural areas.

MySejahtera was jointly developed by four government bodies, including the National Security Council and the Ministry of Health initially as a one-stop app to get the latest information and statistics on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other alternatives similarly developed was the SELangkah platform by the Selangor state government.

In June, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had already advised business owners to use the MySejahtera app, instead of their own application, to record information on visitors to their premises.

Putrajaya had in May mandated businesses to take down the names and phone numbers of all customers as part of the standard operating procedure.

The move however has faced some challenges such as abuse of the information provided by customers, and some customers providing fake details.