Malaysian teenager develops anti-theft app
Lim Wern Jie has created 50 apps, 14 of which have been published on the App Store
By Mohamed Basyir
While other teenagers are too occupied with gadgets and the New Age technologies, a 14-year-old from Penang, Malaysia has decided to go one step ahead — create his own applications on the iOS platform.
Lim Wern Jie, 14, has always been curious to learn new things. Just before the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) last year, while he was browsing the Net, he came across an article on how easy it is to code and develop iOS applications and games. In just one day, Lim had created the Rock, Paper, Scissors game.
After the exam was over, he created the anti-theft app — Phone Security Alarm. The app can detect attempts to steal a phone placed inside a bag or on the table.
“The accelerometer and the gyroscope will detect if there is an unusual quick movement and the alarm will go off within a few seconds, alerting the owner,” said the student of SMJK Jit Sin in Bukit Mertajam. “I just learnt it through YouTube videos and was delighted that it worked!”
The app was later published on the Apple App Store in October 2015 and is available for download at US$0.99 (RM4.36).
Lim later developed another iOS-based app called Personal Diary, which has a user-friendlly interface. The diary entries can also be used via the VoiceOver feature which will record and display the words uttered. “But the one moment that really touched me was when a blind man from the US emailed and praised me for my effort. He said he wanted to use it but had difficulties in setting it up, so I added the tutorial section, something that I had overlooked earlier.