M’sian COVID-19 tracking app crashed after gov’t announced RM50 to be distributed to those who download the app

Back in April, the Malaysian government released several mobile applications to track and collect the citizens’ data on their whereabouts to help facilitate in contact tracing as a mean to combat the spread of COVID-19.

One of the apps is called MySejahtera, which allows people to register their information and check-in to places they visit. The nation’s Ministry of Health declared that the app be used to monitor users’ health condition and “take immediate actions” to manage the outbreak.

However, the mobile app was not greeted fondly by Malaysians as many didn’t see the need to do use it, given that most of them were staying at home due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) being implemented at that time.

As the Malaysian government announced that the country’s existing Conditional MCO (CMCO) will turn into Recovery MCO (RMCO) starting 10 June, it was also reported that the people will have RM50 credited to their e-wallet if they download the MySejahtera app.

Seeing how they will be receiving money in the near future, approximately 700,000 people downloaded the app in just one minute, causing the app to crash. This particular news was reported yesterday (8 June), and it was confirmed by Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He further admitted that the crash occurred after the announcement to distribute RM50 to e-wallets, with an additional RM50 in the form of discounts and cashback. This distribution is part of the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan initiative that was introduced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last Friday (6 June), as reported by The Star.

Malaysians are required to download the app to enjoy the said benefits.

“It is true. The app registration became congested as we received 700,000 registrations at once in a minute. We call upon all not to rush to register at the same time,” said Dr Noor Hisham.

As a result, the Ministry is now considering extending the registration period to a week.