Civic and licensing platforms
Licensing, permitting, and enforcement systems for public-sector teams: applications, review workflows, approvals, and citizen-facing status.
Software studio · Johor Bahru, Malaysia
A software studio for systems that have to work.
gaijin is a small software studio in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, founded by Izzat. We design, build, and run platforms for civic services, commerce, media, and the automation behind them, for public-sector teams and growing businesses.
or email hello@gaijin.lol
What we build
End to end: scoping, design, build, deploy, and the operations that follow.
Marketplaces and commerce
Seller onboarding, photo-first listings, catalogues, and the light administration that keeps a marketplace healthy.
Media and streaming apps
Player and catalogue apps for phones, tablets, and TVs, with provider integrations and subtitles.
Notifications and messaging
Push notification infrastructure and messaging integrations that reach people where they already are.
Automation and bots
Bots, scheduled jobs, and monitors that quietly handle the recurring work: lookups, alerts, and reminders.
Cloud and operations
Cloud-first builds on edge platforms: databases, storage, deployments, and monitoring that stay cheap to run and easy to own.
AI and automation, shown as it is.
We use AI agents for design and quality checks, and plain automation where that is the right tool. A person reviews every step that reaches a client.
AI · Pitch prototype · 2026
Design-to-deploy pipeline
Three homepage directions for a financial consultancy, each built and checked automatically before a person saw it.
Design tokens in one file, automated checks for generic “AI-looking” patterns, contrast and tap-target size, and screenshots at phone and desktop widths.
- Stack
- AI agents, Astro, static HTML, Playwright, Cloudflare Pages
- Status
- Pitch prototype (client name withheld)
16:9 proof image
Automation · 2026
WhatsApp lead click-trail
Every “check eligibility” button is tagged, so the team can see which button sent which lead to which agent.
Button click, then a short record, then WhatsApp opens with the message already typed in, routed to the right specialist.
- Stack
- Static site, edge redirect, spreadsheet log, WhatsApp click-to-chat
- Status
- Designed and prototyped; not yet live (client name withheld)
Selected work
Selected systems with client and product names withheld.
Civic
A licensing platform for a local authority
Application intake, officer review, approvals, renewals, and enforcement workflows for a municipal team, with mobile notifications keeping applicants and officers in step.
- Stack
- Web platform, .NET, mobile notifications
- Status
- In daily production
- Year
- TODO(Izzat): year
16:9 proof image
Commerce
A community marketplace
Seller onboarding, photo-first listings, browsing, moderation, and a light admin for a local marketplace that runs on edge infrastructure with no servers to babysit.
- Stack
- Next.js, Cloudflare Pages, D1, R2
- Status
- Running on edge infrastructure
- Year
- TODO(Izzat): year
16:9 proof image
Media
A streaming app for the living room
A TV-first app for Android TV and mobile: catalogue browsing, playback, subtitles, and a pluggable provider system for content sources.
- Stack
- Android TV, mobile, provider addons
- Status
- Shipped
- Year
- TODO(Izzat): year
16:9 proof image
Automation
Operations automation for a small team
Telegram bots and scheduled jobs that handle record lookups, monitors, and alerts, replacing recurring manual checks.
- Stack
- Telegram bots, scheduled jobs
- Status
- Running daily
- Year
- TODO(Izzat): year
16:9 proof image
Who you’ll work with
Izzat, founder of gaijin. Software developer in Johor Bahru. The person who scopes your system is the person who builds and runs it.
GitHub: ijatodin · LinkedIn: TODO(Izzat): LinkedIn URL
How we work
Direct lines. The people who scope your system are the people who build and run it. No relay layers, no lost context.
Boring where it counts. Proven tools and predictable infrastructure, chosen so the system is still maintainable years from now.
Small on purpose. A few projects at a time. Honest scopes, direct answers, and steady releases instead of a queue number.
Questions, answered
Where is gaijin based?
Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
What does gaijin build?
Civic and licensing platforms, marketplaces, media and streaming apps, notifications and messaging, automation and bots, and cloud operations.
Who will I work with?
The people who scope your system are the people who build and run it. No relay layers.
How many projects do you take?
A few at a time, on purpose.
How do I start?
Send a short note about the problem by email or WhatsApp. We reply personally.
What does “gaijin” mean?
外人 is Japanese for “outsider”: we work outside the usual agency structure.
Have a system in mind?
A short note about the problem is enough to start. We reply personally.