Malaysian Government Bans Public Servants From Using Waze Over Data Security Concerns
As an alternative, public servants and road users are encouraged to adopt TuJu, a locally developed navigation app.
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The Malaysian government has ordered an immediate nationwide ban on the use of the Israeli-founded navigation application Waze across the public sector
The directive was issued via an official administrative circular by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar following decisions reached during the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN) Meeting No. 3/2026, which was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, according to Utusan Malaysia.
Under the new directive, all ministry secretaries-general and heads of department must ensure the mandate is immediately communicated and enforced across their respective departments and agencies
Shamsul Azri stated that civil servants requiring further technical clarification regarding the operational compliance guidelines should contact the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) under the National Security Council of the Prime Minister's Department, which acts as the lead coordinating body for the directive.
The government expressed appreciation for the cooperation and strict adherence of all public sector personnel to ensure full compliance across every ministry and state department
The move reinforces earlier warnings issued by Anwar Ibrahim regarding personal data privacy, movement tracking vulnerabilities, and potential security risks linked to Waze's legal framework under Israeli jurisdiction.
As an alternative, public servants and road users are encouraged to adopt TuJu, a locally developed navigation application managed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM).
