KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Anthony Loke has encouraged local developers to use publicly available transport data to develop navigation applications, following the government's ban on civil servants using Waze for official duties.
He said the ministry had adopted an open-data policy several years ago, allowing developers to access public transport information and create applications that could benefit commuters.
"We encourage applications to be developed to make things easier for the public. Public transport data has been open for several years," he said after opening Phase Three of the Masjid Jamek LRT station upgrading project here today.
Loke was asked whether the ministry planned to support the local application ecosystem following the government's move to ban Waze and encourage the use of locally developed alternatives.
He said Prasarana had made extensive information available to the public, including train frequencies and timetables.
Loke said the ministry's role concerned public transport data, while road-related information fell under the purview of the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA), the Works Ministry and the Public Works Department.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister's Office said the decision to ban civil servants from using Waze was aimed at protecting government information and users' personal data from potential misuse by the Israeli regime.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also urged Malaysians to switch to local alternatives such as TuJu, developed by MHA.
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