Malaysia bars civil servants from Alphabet’s Waze

Malaysia ordered civil servants not to use Alphabet's Waze immediately under an Oct. 20 government letter reviewed by Reuters and reported by The Straits Times on Oct. 21.

The order targets a navigation app Google bought for about $1 billion in 2013, bringing Malaysia's data-security concerns into official use of consumer technology.

Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar told heads of government agencies that all civil servants were covered by the prohibition, according to the letter. An official with the Prime Minister's Department confirmed the letter's authenticity, The Straits Times reported.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a Facebook post after chairing a national cybersecurity committee meeting: “We cannot compromise on the security of people’s data and identities.”

Anwar said on Oct. 21 that the government was examining potential security risks from Waze, which he said “was bound to Israeli laws.” The report said he did not give details of the risks.

Anwar recommended TuJu, a domestic mapping app developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority, as an alternative for officials. The directive gives a local app a clearer role in government use, though the report did not say whether TuJu would become mandatory.

Waze was founded in Israel and uses satellite signals and driver-submitted data to provide real-time traffic information. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, supports the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Source: government letter reviewed by Reuters; newspaper report, The Straits Times, Oct. 21, 2026