Govt urges Malaysians to uninstall Waze over Israeli data laws, stops short of blanket ban

The government urges Malaysians to uninstall Waze due to concerns about personal data being subject to Israeli jurisdiction, while civil servants are banned from using it on official duties.

Citizens are encouraged to switch to the local navigation app TuJu, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority, as it offers features like traffic feedback and information on EV facilities.

The decision balances national security with personal freedom, allowing users to choose after understanding the implications of sharing data with foreign-controlled platforms.

SEPANG, Oct 22 — The government has urged Malaysians to uninstall Waze over concerns that users’ personal and movement data could fall under Israeli jurisdiction.

National Security Council director-general for National Security Raja Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, however, said there will not be a blanket ban issued to preserve individual freedom of choice.

“The government is balancing national security considerations with human rights, freedom of expression and the freedom to choose.

“We always need to strike a balance between security and human rights consideration and freedom of expression, freedom to choose,” Nushirwan told a press conference at the National Cyber Security Agency (Nasca), National Security Council (NSC) headquarters.

Nushirwan said the concerns went beyond technology and instead concerned the legal framework governing the collection and use of personal data, pointing to Waze Mobile Ltd’s terms of use, which stipulate that the agreement is governed by Israeli law.

He said the government would not compromise on the use of Malaysians’ data and the sovereignty of national information.

To illustrate the importance of controlling data, Nushirwan compared it to fuel for a car, saying applications and artificial intelligence platforms depended on data to function.

“If we look at a car, no matter how great the model is, without fuel you cannot use the car, so this fuel is similar to data — data is actually the fuel for any application or AI platform, including Waze.

“If we supply data indiscriminately, it is as though we are relying on a source of fuel that we cannot trust,” he said.

Nushirwan said Malaysia needed to own and control its citizens’ data to protect national information sovereignty.

As of yesterday, the government has issued a ban on the usage of Waze by all civil servants when performing official duties.

“They have been encouraged to uninstall the application from their personal devices as well.

“The application could continue collecting data even when users were not actively using it, depending on its permissions and device settings.

“So the government is also encouraging the public to consider uninstalling Waze and switch to local navigation applications such as TuJu, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), or other available alternatives,” Nushirwan said.

When asked why the government would not ban Waze entirely, Nushirwan said a blanket prohibition would place greater emphasis on security at the expense of personal freedom.

By leaving the decision to individual users, he said, the government hoped Malaysians would make informed choices after understanding the potential implications of sharing their data with platforms governed by foreign laws.

“If they are willing for their data to go to Israel, and any legal disputes to be decided by Israeli courts, that is a matter of their own discretion,” he said.

Nushirwan described the increased public attention on cybersecurity and locally developed applications following the announcement as a positive development, adding that greater control over data was important to Malaysia’s ambition to become an AI-producing nation.

According to LLM deputy director general (operation) Mohammed Ridzuan Jahidin, TuJu offers an alternative for motorists seeking a locally developed navigation application.

“Its first version was launched in November 2025, offering navigation, CCTV-related functions and traffic feedback to alert users to incidents along their journeys.

“The second version adds features including information on electric vehicle-related facilities, roadblocks and saved destinations.

“It also allows users to identify where they have parked their vehicles, including in large parking areas,” he said.

He added that TuJu is in the midst of making its upgraded version 2.0 available to all mobile phone operating systems.

“The iOS version is currently undergoing final testing before its release on the App Store.

“It will likely be released by end of this year,” Mohammed Ridzuan said when met separately.

Nushirwan said the government hoped the approach would raise public awareness of cybersecurity and encourage Malaysians to consider locally developed technology.

Civil servants have been banned from using the Waze navigation app with immediate effect, following a decision by the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN) at its meeting yesterday.

In a letter dated October 20, Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said the JKSN Meeting No. 3 of 2026 was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Shamsul Azri said all secretaries-general and department heads must ensure the decision is communicated to officers under their supervision, including related agencies and departments, for immediate implementation.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister encouraged the public to use the local TuJu app, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), as an alternative for road navigation.

Anwar said the recommendation followed security risks to users’ information and movement data from using Waze, which is bound under Israeli government laws.

TuJu was developed by LLM in collaboration with Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd and launched by Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi last November.

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由于担心个人数据会受到以色列的管辖，马来西亚政府敦促马来西亚民众卸载 Waze 应用，同时禁止公务员在执行公务时使用该应用。

鼓励市民改用马来西亚高速公路管理局开发的本地导航应用程序 TuJu，因为它提供交通反馈和电动汽车设施信息等功能。

该决定在国家安全和个人自由之间取得了平衡，使用户能够在了解与外国控制的平台共享数据的后果后做出选择。

雪邦，10 月 22 日讯——马来西亚政府敦促民众卸载 Waze 应用，因为担心用户的个人和移动数据可能落入以色列的管辖范围。

国家安全委员会国家安全总监拉惹拿督努希尔万·扎伊纳尔·阿比丁表示，不会发布全面禁令，以维护个人选择自由。

“政府正在平衡国家安全考量与人权、言论自由和选择自由。”

“我们始终需要在安全与人权考量、言论自由和选择自由之间取得平衡，”努希尔万在国家网络安全局（NASCA）和国家安全委员会（NSC）总部举行的新闻发布会上表示。

努希尔万表示，这些担忧不仅限于技术，还涉及管理个人数据收集和使用的法律框架，他指出 Waze Mobile Ltd 的使用条款规定，该协议受以色列法律管辖。

他表示，政府不会在马来西亚公民数据的使用和国家信息主权问题上妥协。

为了说明控制数据的重要性，努希尔万将其比作汽车的燃料，称应用程序和人工智能平台依赖数据才能运行。

“如果我们看看汽车，无论车型多么出色，没有燃料就无法使用，所以燃料与数据类似——数据实际上是任何应用程序或人工智能平台（包括 Waze）的燃料。

他说：“如果我们不加选择地提供数据，就好像我们依赖一个我们无法信任的燃料来源一样。”

努希尔万表示，马来西亚需要拥有并控制其公民的数据，以保护国家信息主权。

截至昨日，政府已颁布禁令，禁止所有公务员在执行公务时使用 Waze 导航软件。

“我们也鼓励他们从个人设备上卸载该应用程序。”

“根据应用程序的权限和设备设置，即使在用户不主动使用该应用程序的情况下，该应用程序也可以继续收集数据。

“因此，政府也鼓励公众考虑卸载 Waze，转而使用马来西亚公路管理局 (LLM) 开发的 TuJu 等本地导航应用程序，或其他可用的替代方案，”努希尔万说。

当被问及政府为何不彻底禁止 Waze 时，努希尔万表示，全面禁止将更加注重安全，而牺牲个人自由。

他表示，政府希望通过将决定权留给个人用户，马来西亚民众在了解与受外国法律管辖的平台共享数据的潜在后果后，能够做出明智的选择。

他说：“如果他们愿意将数据发送到以色列，并且任何法律纠纷都由以色列法院裁决，那是他们自己的选择。”

Nushirwan 表示，公告发布后，公众对网络安全和本地开发的应用程序的关注度有所提高，这是一个积极的发展。他还补充说，加强对数据的控制对于马来西亚成为人工智能生产国的雄心壮志至关重要。

据 LLM 副总经理（运营）穆罕默德·里祖安·贾希丁 (Mohammed Ridzuan Jahidin) 称，TuJu 为寻求本地开发的导航应用程序的驾车人士提供了一种替代方案。

“其第一个版本于 2025 年 11 月推出，提供导航、闭路电视相关功能和交通反馈，以提醒用户注意旅途中发生的事件。

“第二个版本增加了电动汽车相关设施、路障和已保存目的地等信息。

“它还能让用户识别自己停车的位置，包括大型停车场，”他说。

他还补充说，途鹰正在向所有手机操作系统推出升级版 2.0。

“iOS 版本目前正在进行最终测试，之后将在 App Store 上发布。”

“它很可能在今年年底前发布，”穆罕默德·里兹万在单独接受采访时表示。

努希尔万表示，政府希望此举能够提高公众对网络安全的认识，并鼓励马来西亚人考虑采用本地开发的技术。

根据国家网络安全委员会（JKSN）昨天召开的会议决定，公务员立即被禁止使用 Waze 导航应用程序。

政府首席秘书丹斯里三苏阿兹里阿布巴卡在 10 月 20 日的一封信中表示，2026 年第 3 次 JKSN 会议由首相拿督斯里安瓦尔易卜拉欣主持。

沙姆苏尔·阿兹里表示，所有秘书长和部门负责人必须确保将该决定传达给其管辖下的官员，包括相关机构和部门，以便立即执行。

周二，首相鼓励公众使用马来西亚公路管理局 (LLM) 开发的本地 TuJu 应用程序作为道路导航的替代方案。

安瓦尔表示，之所以提出这项建议，是因为使用 Waze 会给用户的信息和移动数据带来安全风险，而 Waze 受以色列政府法律约束。

TuJu 由法学硕士与 Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd 合作开发，并于去年 11 月由工程部长拿督斯里亚历山大南达林吉推出。

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LLM和PCSB就Tuju服务中断致歉，并表示在用户投诉后正在积极恢复和升级该应用。

林冠英称Tuju事件是“国家耻辱”，并表示必须追究相关责任人的责任。