Malaysia is considering a complete Waze ban that would extend beyond civil servants’ work-related restrictions, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said amid security concerns, Al Jazeera reported Oct. 24.
Al Jazeera reported that the current restriction bars civil servants from using the navigation app for official duties over concerns about its links to Israel and national security. The proposed complete ban would apply more broadly.
The National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) says its directive covers civil servants’ work-related Waze use. Its FAQ advises employees to uninstall the app but does not require removal; personal use is outside the directive’s stated scope, as detailed in coverage of the civil-servant restriction.
Anwar has previously tied a wider ban to whether Malaysia can provide a capable replacement. He has also urged people to use TuJu, a locally developed navigation app, while acknowledging that it was not fully developed. The possibility of a nationwide ban was also part of earlier coverage of the proposal.
