00:00The government has banned civil servants from using the navigation app Waze, which was developed in Israel.
00:09Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abubakar said the decision was made at a National Cyber Security Committee meeting
00:17chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on October 20.
00:21In a letter, Shamsul instructed heads of departments and secretaries-general
00:26to inform staff of the decision for immediate implementation.
00:30The National Cyber Security Agency will coordinate the directive's implementation.
00:36Anwar also encouraged Malaysians to consider using TUJU, a local navigation app developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority.
00:44He cited concerns over Waze's handling of personal data and information on users' movements,
00:50given that the app is subject to Israeli laws.
00:54Malaysia joins Iraq, which announced a full ban on Waze from 2027,
00:59while Iran has previously blocked and restricted access to the app over its links to Israel.
01:06Google acquired Waze for about US$1.15 billion in 2013.
01:12The app was founded in Israel in 2008 by three Israeli entrepreneurs.
01:18Jasmine Kistina, FMT
01:20N
