Waze Ban for Civil Servants?

 

Lawmakers have called on the government to clarify its decision to ban civil servants from using navigation app Waze over its alleged links to Israel. What is the rationale for the restriction and whether other applications pose similar data security risks?

If Waze is prohibited over its alleged links to Israel, what about other US-based applications, including Google Maps, Instagram and WhatsApp? Waze has been owned by Google since 2013. So, what’s the difference in data security risks between Waze and Google Maps, which share the same parent company.

 

Source: https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waze 

If Waze posed a security threat because it was based in Israel, the government should consider prohibiting its use throughout Malaysia rather than restricting the ban to civil servants.

PMX urged Malaysians to stop using Waze and switch to local alternatives such as TuJu, citing assurances on data security and personal data protection. TuJu is a local highway navigation and traffic application developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority in collaboration with Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd. The app was launched less than a year ago. According to Prosignal Consortium’s official website, the Cyberjaya-based company was incorporated in 2021 and focuses on smart data technology and infrastructure integration. The company’s chairman is Datuk Muhammed Abdullah, the Undang of Johol, one of Negeri Sembilan’s four territorial chieftains. Its deputy chairman and managing director is Mohd Edzreen Mohd Din. Other prominent figures on the board include Selat Klang state assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari, who serves as an executive director, and former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, who is a non-executive director.

The core difference is that Waze is a mature, globally-focused, community-driven navigation app, while Tuju is a newly launched, Malaysian government-backed app built specifically for highway travel. While both offer navigation, they serve very different primary purposes and are at vastly different stages of development.

1.      Core Purpose & Scope

-Waze: A general-purpose, international navigation app for daily driving on all road types, powered by a massive global community.

-Tuju: A Malaysian highway-focused app developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM). It is designed for inter-state travel, toll calculations, and highway-specific updates.

 

2.      Data Sources & Traffic Info

-Waze: Relies on crowdsourced, real-time reports from its millions of users (accidents, police, traffic jams).

-Tuju: Pulls official data from LLM's traffic management centre, highway concessionaires, live CCTV feeds, and verified user reports.

 

3.      Key Features

-Waze: Best-in-class real-time traffic alerts, automatic rerouting, and community interaction. It also offers speed limit warnings and lane guidance.

-Tuju: Specialized highway tools like toll cost calculators, detailed R&R (Rest & Service area) listings (including EV chargers), live CCTV access, and emergency hotline links.

 

4.      Performance & Usability

-Waze: A polished, reliable experience with consistent UI across platforms, and support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

-Tuju: Reports highlight frequent bugs, poor turn-by-turn instructions, no live traffic rerouting, inconsistent UI between iOS and Android, and a lack of CarPlay/Android Auto support. User reviews on the App Store average only 2.6 out of 5 due to these issues.

 

5.      Privacy & Sovereignty

-Waze: Owned by Google and subject to Israeli government laws, which is the primary reason the Malaysian government is pushing for an alternative.

-Tuju: A locally developed app intended to keep user data within Malaysia's jurisdiction.

 

6.      Maturity & User Base

-Waze: Has years of development, a massive global user base, and a vast map database.

-Tuju: Launched in November 2025, it is still in its early stages with a smaller user base and a less mature local map database, especially in areas like Sarawak. 

In short, Waze is a proven, feature-rich tool for daily driving. Tuju is a nascent, official highway companion that prioritizes data sovereignty but currently struggles with basic navigation reliability compared to its established rival. 

Internationally, Waze is banned in one or two countries due to national security concerns or local traffic regulations.

Iraq:

·         The Ban: The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced plans to block and ban Waze.

·       The Reason: Authorities cited the app's Israeli origins and noted that it has occasionally been used by drivers to track or bypass security checkpoints.

 Germany (Feature-Level Ban):

·      The Restriction: While the Waze app itself is not completely outlawed in Germany, displaying and using the app's speed camera alert feature is illegal for drivers under German traffic regulations. 

The ramifications for this is that we need to ban all Israeli products even if it is acquired by the U.S. or Europe. These many include: 

·       -Food and beverages (dates, avocados etc)

·        -Cosmetics (AHAJA)

·        -Household products (Keter Group)

·        -Technology (Hewlett Packard, Google, smartphones, computers, telecom networks)

So, must we return to the camel, horse and bullock-cart days instead of EVs and AIs?

 

Reference:

Lawmakers seek clarity on Waze ban for civil servants over alleged Israel link, Choy Nyen Yiau & Justin Cheng, theedgemalaysia.com, 22 Oct 2026