PUTRAJAYA, Oct 23 — Malaysians are free to use any navigation application other than Waze, including alternatives developed locally or overseas, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said today.
He said the government was not directing the public towards a single alternative amid concerns over Waze’s data security and ongoing efforts to improve the locally developed TuJu application.
“The government encourages the use of various applications. There are various alternatives, both locally developed and those from overseas.
“What is important is that Waze is not used, due to security concerns that have been communicated by the National Security Council,” he said at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference here.
“We are not directing everyone towards a single application. People can use various alternative navigation applications other than Waze,” he added.
Fahmi said the concerns over Waze were based on feedback from the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa), which was conveyed to the National Security Council (MKN) and subsequently discussed by the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN).
He said two key issues had been raised: the transfer of data collected and processed through the application to Israel, and the fact that any legal disputes would have to be handled through Israeli courts.
“Any legal disputes would be handled exclusively through the courts in Israel. This means that if any issues arise, we would not be able to pursue them there because Malaysia does not recognise Israel and has no diplomatic relations with it,” he said.
On TuJu, Fahmi said the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) had acknowledged the problems reported by users and was working to improve the application.
However, he said LLM and its developer, ProSignal Konsortium Sdn Bhd, needed to provide detailed explanations of the technical problems, the application’s current performance and the measures being taken to address users’ complaints.
He said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar had been asked to coordinate a meeting involving the secretaries-general of several ministries to examine the use of navigation applications, including local alternatives, and ensure Waze was no longer used, particularly by civil servants.
The meeting would also examine explanations from LLM and ProSignal Konsortium, as well as TuJu’s functionality, user experience and improvement plans, including clear targets and timelines.
The ban on Waze was decided at a JKSN meeting, with Shamsul Azri instructing department heads to ensure it was implemented immediately.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday that the government was looking into security risks arising from Waze, which he said was subject to Israeli laws.
Nacsa later clarified that the ban applied only to civil servants on official duty, although it encouraged them to uninstall Waze and switch to a local alternative.
LLM had apologised for disruptions to TuJu, attributing them to a surge in new users after Anwar’s call, while users also complained about its navigation and route accuracy.
Waze has rejected claims that it collects sensitive government information or allows any party to exploit users’ personal data, calling them false.