Malaysia may widen its restrictions on Waze after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the country’s security and citizens’ personal data could not be compromised. The government has already barred civil servants from using the Google-owned navigation app for official duties, while a broader public ban remains under consideration.
Anwar said a complete restriction could be examined once viable alternatives become available. In Facebook posts on Friday, he apologised for the inconvenience caused by the decision but defended the move as necessary to protect national sovereignty and government information.
The partial ban is based on concerns about Waze’s ties to Israel and the potential misuse of government information and personal data by the Israeli government, according to the Malaysian government’s position. Waze was founded and based in Israel before being acquired by Google in 2013.
Waze rejected the claims, with the company telling Agence France-Presse that suggestions it collects sensitive government information or allows any entity to exploit personal user data were “completely false”. The company said it operates under strict privacy policies and global data-protection standards.
The dispute has direct implications for how Malaysia’s drivers receive live information on the country’s roads. Waze is widely used for crowdsourced updates on congestion, accidents, speed traps and alternative routes. A wider restriction would therefore affect not only an individual navigation service but also the flow of real-time traffic information used by commuters and motorists.
Anwar has encouraged Malaysians to consider TuJu, a locally developed navigation application operated by the Malaysian Highway Authority. However, the proposed alternative has faced criticism from users over unreliable directions, limited real-time traffic information and technical glitches.
The highway authority apologised for disruptions after a sudden increase in TuJu users and said it expected to restore stable navigation services within two weeks. The surge highlighted the operational challenge of shifting a large number of drivers from a widely used platform to an alternative that users say is not yet equally reliable.
Anwar said the controversy among users was focused on the reliability of alternatives rather than on the government’s decision to restrict Waze. The government’s next step will depend on whether locally available navigation services can provide a dependable replacement for the app’s live traffic and routing functions.
