E-voting during GE15? Issues related to security and secrecy have to be ironed out first, says the EC. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
Our lives continue to be enriched by the Internet – you could, for instance, borrow books via WhatsApp now – but it’s also rife with scams.
As social distancing is still key to keeping the Covid-19 pandemic in check, more organisations are making their services available through delivery.
The latest to join the bandwagon is Selangor Public Library Corp (PPAS) with its BooksFly2U service, which allows the public to borrow books via WhatsApp and have them sent via an e-hailing service.
The service is free but users will have to bear the e-hailing fee.
Each person can borrow up to 10 books for up to three weeks and an overdue fine of 50sen per day will be imposed for late returns.
Users have to register as a member first through the website (www.ppas.gov.my) or the BooksFly2U WhatsApp number (010 849-1448).
Amirudin, flanked by PPAS director Mastura Muhamad (left) and Selangor state secretary Datuk Mohd Amin Ahmad Ahya, at the launch of the BooksFly2U service in Shah Alam. — KK SHAM/The Star
It’s also best to search the website for the title and call number of the books you want to borrow before messaging the service.
You will also have to provide your name, MyKad number, contact number and the location of the nearest library.
There are about 100 PPAS libraries, including the Raja Tun Uda Library in Shah Alam, Community Library in Sri Manja and Community Library in Ampang Waterfront.
The books can be returned using an e-hailng service or dropped off at the nearest PPAS library.
In a report, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the service was introduced as part of an initiative for adapting to the new normal.
“This service is a solution to members of the public who need physical books,” he said.
To keep the pandemic in check, Malaysians are required to check-in at public places by either writing their details down or using a contact tracing app such as SElangkah.
SElangkah has been updated with a new feature that lets users report the number of people not wearing masks when checking in.
After scanning the QR code, users will be prompted with a message asking “how many people do you see not wearing a mask here?” and given three options – zero, up to four, and more than five.
SElangkah allows users to report the number of people not wearing masks when checking in. — JADE CHAN/The Star
Last week, Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri announced that it will be compulsory to wear masks in crowded places and when using public transport from Aug 1.
Those who don’t comply with the ruling can be slapped with an RM1,000 fine or prosecuted in court.Also, as talks of the 15th General Election (GE15) is in the air, another process that could undergo digitalisation is voting.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the government is engaging various stakeholders on the possibility of introducing e-voting for GE15.
Though it would allow the people to cast votes without leaving their house, or in some cases travel to another state, Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin cautioned that it may not be accessible to everyone.
“It is good as it will give everyone an opportunity to vote without queuing up during the elections but the infrastructure must be in place. Around 60% of Malaysia is rural and the rest (in) urban areas. And sometimes, we even tend to lose signal (while talking on the phone) in urban areas,” he said in a report.
E-voting will also require more laws and regulations to be in place, he said, so Malaysians may have to wait longer for it to be implemented. Just how long? Bung predicted it could take 10 or 15 years, adding that it will be appreciated by the younger generation.
There are also other issues to be tackled, including secrecy, cost and voter education, said Takiyuddin.
As of now, the Election Commission is not satisfied with the secrecy and security aspects of e-voting, he added.
“Therefore, the EC will continue to engage with relevant quarters before any decision is put forward to the government,” said Takiyuddin during Question Time in Parliament.
Takiyuddin said countries that have implemented e-voting include the United States, Brazil and Switzerland.
Despite the convenience, some countries have reverted to casting votes on paper, he added.
“Many issues are causing their election results to be questioned and it’s proven that it isn’t an effective system,” he said.
However, you can still register as a voter online through the EC website.
While lack of connectivity makes it difficult to access some services, those who are online have to constantly deal with scams.
US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s account was hacked to promote a scam.
On July 16, hackers gained access to Twitter accounts belonging to prominent personalities such as the former US president Barack Obama, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
Their profiles were used in a scam to cheat others out of their bitcoin cryptocurrency.
Twitter revealed that the hack was part of a “coordinated social engineering attack” that allowed hackers to access the company’s internal systems, giving them access to the profiles.
To mitigate the attack, the social media network stopped the profiles from sending new tweets, and all posts by the hackers were deleted.
Bloomberg described the incident as “the worst security breach” in Twitter’s history and Financial Times called it “the great Twitter hack of 2020”.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey described the incident as a “tough day” for the company in a tweet addressing the hack.
It was reported that 130 accounts were affected and the scam netted the hackers about US$118,000 (RM503,100) in bitcoins.
