While digitalisation is crucial to improve service delivery by government agencies, Malaysians face huge fragmentation across apps and digital platforms. There are currently at least 200 apps developed by different ministries and agencies.

The MyGOV app in Beta version, is now available for download via the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery. Users can login to the app seamlessly via MyDigital ID.

MyGOV aims to be the single hub for govt services

During a media briefing held this morning, the Digital Ministry’s Secretary General YBhg. Tuan Fabian Bigar explained that MyGOV is one of the earliest showcases for GovTech and it is developed by the National Digital Department (Jabatan Digital Negara).

To ensure data sovereignty and privacy, the app is 100% developed in-house without external vendors and it is supported by MyDigital, MyNIC and CyberSecurity Malaysia.

Fabian highlighted that bringing together government services with legacy systems is no easy task and they are working hard to add more government services to the platform. The MyGOV app doesn’t host any data as it merely acts as an interface to display information from the linked government agencies and department.

At the moment, the app has integrated 34 government services. These include the ability to view MyKad details, driving licence, vehicle registration and passport information, as well as to check for school exam results and make appointments at government health clinics.

They have also announced plans to add a payment gateway to the app which would allow users to pay for traffic summons and renewal of passports. Unfortunately, there’s no hard targets or timeline to integrate all government services into the app.

While the ultimate goal is to put all services under one roof, Fabian shared that respective government agencies may have existing contracts with vendors and the integration will take some time. To ensure wider accessibility, existing apps would still continue to be available even after integration with MyGOV.

From our experience so far, the MyGOV interface is more pleasant to use than most government apps. Out of the 12 service categories, Transportation has the most features which include driver’s licence, motor vehicle licence (LKM), check JPJ summons, view latest vehicle registration number and check driving exam results.

However, it is still no substitute for the MyJPJ app as it doesn’t display a virtual copy of your driver’s licence.

MyGOV AI Chat still needs a lot of work

Another interesting feature is the integrated AI Chatbot feature developed by GovTech’s GNU team for any questions related to government’s services. The AI uses a local LLM and it aims to be a source for citizens to get the right information instead of relying on third party sources including blogs.

From our quick test, the AI Chat in its current state is not dependable as it has been churning out wrong information.

For example, it couldn’t get the name of ministers right. As shown above, the AI Chat thinks YB Gobind Singh is the Minister for Digital, Minister of Communications and Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. When asked who is the Economy Minister, it answered YB Nga Kor Ming.

Similarly, when we asked about the upcoming RM100 SARA aid for all Malaysian adults, it answered that the program has commenced since 1st July 2022.

With Merdeka Day around the corner, we asked who designed the Malaysian Flag (Jalur Gemilang). The AI Chatbot responded that it was designed by Mohd. Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar in 1960.

When we asked who is Mohamed bin Hamzah (the designer of Jalur Gemilang), the AI answered that he’s the Minister of Religious Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department.

At the current rate, it is better to disable this AI Chatbot as it is currently spewing misinformation.

One govt app to rule them all?

While the ambition to have one single government app for the Rakyat is good, there should be a clearer mandate for all government agencies to enable their services on the MyGOV platform. Similar to the challenges faced by MyDigital ID, the use cases for MyGOV app is still very limited and its success depends on the number of users and the support from the various ministries and government agencies.

Ideally, MyGOV should be the single app to replace the dozens of redundant government apps in our smartphones. Ultimately, it is about reducing friction and to ensure that government services can be delivered in the most efficient way possible.

There will be citizen labs sessions to be held nationwide and Malaysians are encouraged to share their feedback to help improve the app.