Malaysia Bans State Employees From Using Waze Over Israeli Origin

Malaysia has prohibited its public servants from using the navigation app Waze due to security concerns stemming from its Israeli origin. The ban, which took immediate effect, was announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who cited potential risks without elaborating. He recommended using the local mapping application TuJu instead.

Ibrahim stated that the government cannot compromise on the data and identities of the public, emphasizing that Waze is subject to Israeli laws. The directive was communicated via a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Samsul Azri Abu Bakar, to heads of government agencies, following a decision made at a national cybersecurity committee meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.

Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, maintains a strong pro-Palestinian stance and does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. This move follows a similar action by Iraq, whose Minister of Communications, Mustafa Sand, announced earlier in October that Waze would be banned in the country by early 2027, also citing its Israeli creation.

Waze, founded and developed in Israel, was acquired by Google in 2013. The app, which boasts over 200 million monthly users globally, relies heavily on crowdsourced data from its users to provide real-time traffic information and alerts.