Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia would assess available navigation apps before deciding whether to impose a blanket Waze ban, putting local alternatives and the existing civil-service restriction in focus.
The National Cyber Security Committee decided Oct. 20 to restrict civil servants’ Waze use, followed that day by a directive from the Chief Secretary, the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) said. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo told Parliament the rule covers official duties only, but NACSA’s FAQ says it also applies to personal trips and time off.
Anwar has urged motorists to consider TuJu, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority with Prosignal Consortium Sdn. Bhd. Gobind said the app provides highway congestion updates, toll information, rest-stop details and CCTV feeds, with work underway to extend coverage to connecting roads. He said civil servants may choose other navigation apps, including Google Maps.
Drivers interviewed by Channel NewsAsia described their own experiences. Taxi driver Mohamed Aidil said he deleted TuJu in less than a day after failing to find some locations and finding route instructions confusing. E-hailing driver P. Vishovartan told the outlet he relied on Waze for arrival-time and toll estimates, and for route choices when traffic built up.
NACSA says Waze gathers location, travel and device information. It points to terms that place service disputes under Israeli law and courts in the Tel Aviv district. The agency treats movement analysis as a potential data-security concern but says its assessment has not established that Waze carries out that kind of analysis. A Waze spokesperson told The Associated Press, “Waze operates under strict privacy policies,” and said the app meets global data-protection standards.
TuJu’s privacy policy says it processes GPS location and route information; data shared with mapping providers is anonymized and aggregated.
On Oct. 24, Anwar acknowledged shortcomings in TuJu as he described the conditions for a blanket ban. The Straits Times had earlier reported him linking a full ban to whether Malaysia could offer a capable replacement, a proposal covered in EconoTimes’ earlier report.