The Malaysian state of Selangor has been busy enhancing their contact tracing application – SELangkah. The new optimisations and features gear the app to address some of the growing concerns emerging amongst Malaysians in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic. With its new features, the app is now gearing up for the vaccine rollout and for a “new normal” post-COVID-19.
SELangkah is getting improvements to its core, contact tracing function. The app now allows users to access information such as Crowd Trends which allows users gauge their visits based on the customer visits to a given premises. The app provides users with a map of the locations recently afflicted with COVID-19 cases. Using this information, SELangkah is assessing the exposure risk to the virus. On the back end, the SELangkah app now provides a dashboard for law enforcement to clamp down on premises flouting the Operating Procedures announced through a Visitor Log.
The app is also adopting a GPS based check-in system which allows users to check in to the premises via their phone’s GPS instead of scanning the QR Code. The SELangkah app will also work with QR Codes issued by the Federal Government’s MySejahtera application. It also gives access to the features of the app within SELangkah. Users will now be able to access their location history as well with the new scan history. In addition, the app will be communicating regular updates from the Selangor State Government via its new bulletin board feature.
The Selangor Government is also encouraging screening through the SELangkah application. Users will be able to register for upcoming events and check their COVID-19 screening results via the application. In addition, the state government is looking to use the app to track vaccination rollout. Users are able to register for vaccination via the Register and Sign up for your Vaccine Pack (RSVP) feature that is coming to the application soon. The RSVP feature will be integrated into vendors’ stock keeping systems for better rollout.
What started off as a contact tracing app is quickly becoming the Selangor Government’s go-to application for many of its welfare efforts. The application is expanding to include commercial features which will allow those such as hawkers who have had to deal with the brunt of the pandemic to quickly adopt and adapt to changing times. Their SELangkah Biz feature is a cashless solution which looks to enable cashless payments among micro, small and medium enterprise merchants. The feature will allow these vendors to receive e-wallet payments even without a bank account.
The SELangkah app is also upping security by adopting a more secure approach they are calling SELangkah ID. The single-sign-on system is integrated across the app and allows users to use digital and biometric authentication to access the app’s growing list of features. It will also offer access to government-related services as Selangor shifts toward a more digital future.