KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 ― The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) became the talk of the town recently thanks to its new super app, the MyOnePAS. The new app provides a variety of services including e-wallet, bill payment, mobile reloads, prayers schedule, and qibla finder.
Open to everyone and not just PAS members, users can even apply to obtain a companion MasterCard prepaid card to go with the app. Not only that, you can even use MyOnePas to make a donation to the party.
The political party is not exactly known to be at the forefront of the digital space, so the unveiling of the super app has certainly caught everyone by surprise. However, there is also another big reason why MyOnePAS suddenly became a topic of discussion among the public: the way it is being released to users.
Specifically, the super app was released as an APK file for Android devices on a website instead of being distributed through Google Play. Hence, this means the only way to have MyOnePAS on your Android device at the moment is through sideloading.
APK sideloading is a risky move
As you may know, sideloading an app into your device is generally considered a security risk. This is because the app would not be checked against malicious codes and this may expose your device to malware.
This is even more critical for MyOnePAS since it has an e-wallet function which means it would be monitored by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The irony is that BNM has specifically pointed out that users should ONLY download apps through official platforms such as Google Play Store.
Some may argue that users are not downloading MyOnePAS from unknown sources since the APK file is hosted on a website created by the developer of the super app itself, PASPay Technology. But then again, there is a possibility that you may forget to reverse the “Install unknown apps” permission on your device which would then make it vulnerable to malicious apps.
Just wait for MyOnePAS to be available on Google Play and App Store
All is not lost though, in case you are really eager or just curious enough to have the MyOnePAS super app on your device. This was not explicitly revealed at launch but the app will soon be made available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
PASPay Technology has since updated the app’s website with a pop-up notice which said that users can obtain MyOnePAS from both Google Play Store and Apple App Store by the end of November 2023.
In line with the advice from BNM, we do recommend you just wait for the app to appear on both app marketplaces next month. This is to ensure that you didn’t accidentally turn on a setting that may expose your device to malicious apps and other security issues. ― SoyaCincau
