Dismal response to ’1M’sia’ email service

The RM50 million Myemail email and online payment system has gathered 3,000 subscribers since going live on September 14, service provider Tricubes Bhd said today.

NONEAt a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Tricubes chief executive officer Khairun Zainal Mokhtar said the figures were far behind the 5.4 million subscriber target set by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).

“We are targeting as many subscribers as possible, and we are optimistic of our target, though Pemandu has set a 5.4 million subscribers target for us by year-end,” he said.
Admitting the original target is a “stretch” for them,  Khairun said the internal forecast has been readjusted to two million subscribers by 2012.


He said the company had held discussions with Pemandu, and the latter was realistic about reaching the target.

He explained that the 3,000 subscribers were recruited during two months of beta testing prior to the official launch.

Taking questions from the floor, Khairun also gave an assurance that the system would not compromise on security issues.

Tricubes software engineering department head S Vishnu Shankar said the company staff would have no way to access the database in order to steal the confidential information of the users.

‘No hidden costs for users’

Originally dubbed the ’1Malaysia email’ service, Myemail was launched by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on April 19, and the scheme immediately drew flak from the public.

There were privacy concerns and whether the expenditure was justifiable, given that email services are, in most cases, free. There were also questions over Tricubes’ GN3 status.

Najib later clarified that the RM50 million was the investment put in by Tricubes in its bid for the project.
Asked on the system charges, Khairun reiterated that the e-billing system would only charge the government agencies 50 sen for each bill, and there were no hidden costs for the users.

He said they had approached four government agencies – the police, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Road Transport Department and the Employees Provident Fund, with two of them ready for a pilot programme while the other two are still in discussions.

On the company’s financial status, Khairun said Tricubes was on track toward financial regularisation and the company would be submitting its plan by Oct 24.

The company is expecting a turnaround in the second half of next year.

In a press release, Tricubes explained that Myemail system is based on the Microsoft Windows Live platform, providing registered users with the advantages of Windows Live features, such as unlimited email space, 25GB storage and access to online Microsoft tools.

“The service is a free email initiative allowing Malaysians direct and secure communication with government agencies. It will also provide subscribers with high volume, secure, electronic document delivery solutions as well as exclusive promotions,” the statement said.

No comments:

Post a Comment