13 Malaysians Stranded In The Philippines As Vaccination Cert In MySejahtera Not Accepted
The Philippines refused to accept the vaccination cert in the MySejahtera app.
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13 Malaysians were stranded at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport after the group was not allowed to enter the Philippines.
They were denied entry by immigration despite being vaccinated in Malaysia.
According to The Star, a passenger said the digital vaccine certificate in the MySejahtera app was not accepted by the Philippines.
Therefore, the Philippine authorities did not allow the entry of 15 passengers who arrived via flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Sunday.
Their passports were also confiscated and they would be sent home on Tuesday (14 February).
The passenger claimed the Philippine immigration authorities would accept vaccination in another country such as Singapore.
The Philippines, which opened its borders to fully-vaccinated travelers starting 10 February, would also accept the International Certificate of Vaccination from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The group, which also comprised 2 foreign nationals, is traveling to the Philippines for business, personal and humanitarian reasons.
In the latest development, the Malaysian Embassy in Manila is assisting the stranded Malaysians.
Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Manila kini sedang membantu rakyat Malaysia yang terkandas di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Ninoy Aquino untuk memasuki Filipina. @MalaysiaMFA juga sedang berurusan dengan agensi berkaitan bagi memudahkan proses ini berjalan lancar. https://t.co/UmjpNqLHre
— Saifuddin Abdullah 🇲🇾 (@saifuddinabd) February 14, 2022
The Health Ministry (KKM) is also looking into the matter.
The incident drew flak from the public with critics alleging that the MySejahtera app could not be trusted.
The distrust on our MoH issued MySejahtera when vaccines certificate could be forged by our doctors. 😒https://t.co/H4U8wRjUkP
— Siti Kasim (@sitikasim) February 14, 2022
There’s No Such Thing As Perfect Technology
In the past, the app’s Application Programming Interface (API) was misused to send false emails and text messages to users.
The website’s “Need Help?” function had also been misused to send random spam mails.
Some said they even received prank emails from MySejahtera stating they had tested positive for Covid-19.
MySejahtera Users Get Spam Email, SMS From App
— CodeBlue (@codebluenews) October 20, 2021
Several MySejahtera users received spam emails from MySejahtera’s helpdesk and spam OTP SMSes.https://t.co/GB1vteiGXd
The Health Ministry had since improved the app’s security, which is currently under joint management with the National Security Council (MKN).
The app was originally developed on a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) basis by local company KPISoft Sdn Bhd, which has offices globally.
The application was also jointly developed with the National Security Council, KKM, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The government decided to pay MySejahtera mobile app developers starting from April 2021 onwards.
MySejahtera has been helping the government to track Covid-19 outbreaks.
The app also notifies and updates the public on vaccination progress and status.
Its Check-In feature registers and manages the entry of visitors into a premise in a structured and standardized manner.
READ MORE: MySejahtera Status Is Yellow And Can’t Enter Shops? Here’s How To Switch To Blue
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