CIVIL servants have been barred from using Waze for official duties partly because its terms of service fall under Israeli law, leaving questions over the legal recourse available to Malaysians in the event of a dispute, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said.
He told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday that the government was also concerned about how the navigation app handles users’ location data, including claims that their movements could be determined even when the application was not actively being used.
“When we use an application, we agree to certain terms and conditions. If we look at that agreement, it is clear that it falls under the jurisdiction of Israeli law,” he said.
Gobind said this raised uncertainty over whether Malaysians could obtain legal remedies through the Israeli legal system if problems arose.
He stressed that the restriction applied only to civil servants using Waze for official duties, not the general public.
“The ban applies to government employees and civil servants as defined under the Federal Constitution. It does not apply to all Malaysians,” he said.
Gobind was responding to a supplementary question from Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong), who raised concerns about TuJu, a locally developed navigation application that has been suggested as an alternative to Waze.
Young Syefura said she had downloaded TuJu but was disappointed with its functionality, raising questions about its readiness to replace established navigation platforms.
Gobind said TuJu, developed with the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) under the Works Ministry, initially focused on highway traffic information but was being expanded to provide broader navigation services.
He said the Digital Ministry would explore ways to improve TuJu, PINTAZ and other navigation services through cooperation under GovTech.
However, he clarified that civil servants were not required to use TuJu exclusively, with Google Maps among the other available options.
“There has been no statement saying that we can only use TuJu,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the restriction on Waze for civil servants on Oct 21, citing concerns over sensitive government information and personal data, while encouraging Malaysians to consider locally developed alternatives.
Waze was developed in Israel before Google acquired it in 2013. Its terms of service state that Israeli law governs the application, with disputes subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts in the Tel Aviv district. - October 22, 2026