We are all required to update the MySejahtera status when we wish to enter the public domain to do groceries, and what-nots, including attending court for a trial.

There are a few questions that need to be answered with a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ which the app will then update your risk factor i.e. low risk (blue) or high risk (red) or somewhere in between (yellow/orange), depending on how you respond.

If all the questions are answered with ‘NO’, you are categorised as low risk. A ‘YES’ will however depend on whether you were in the presence with someone who was in close contact, or with someone who was diagnosed as Covid19 positive. The former is medium risk while the latter is high risk.

The key element in submitting your response is .. HONESTY.

And an honest person will be .. well .. honest.

But what about a dishonest person? Specially one who is required to attend trial in court, but does not wish to do so? How will this person avoid attendance?

If the MySejahtera status update is considered as a real-time application, all one needs to do is answer ‘YES’ to one or two questions, albeit dishonestly, about an hour before trial starts, and ..VOILA! .. you are now legally prevented by law to attend court.

And the judge must comply with court rules. The judge has no other choice but stop the defendant from entering the courtroom. An alternative is to enact a hybrid session i.e. the defendant makes a presence via ZOOM which does not, however, address the crux of the matter i.e. physical attendance in the courtroom.

MySejahtera is a necessary tool for everything we do nowadays and whether it is used honestly, or otherwise, becomes a point of contention because its accuracy cannot be determined in real-time.

So how do we address this anomaly? Simple .. Use a self-test kit.

The defendant must, at own cost, take an antigen self-test in the presence of a court official to establish a bona fide status update. If trial starts at 9:00am sharp, the defendant must be present at the court premises by 8:30am to expedite the self-test which normally takes about 15 minutes for a result to be obtained.

Oh one more thing .. Do not allow the defendant to bring and use a self-test kit. The court must provide one, and the cost must be paid by the defendant.