Malaysia bars civil servants from using Waze, citing Israel’s control of app

All civil servants in Malaysia have been banned from using Waze, following a warning by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of security concerns over the Israeli government’s control of the mobile navigation app.

The government announced the decision after a National Cyber Security Committee (NCSC) meeting chaired by Anwar on Tuesday, according to an official circular.

“In this regard, all ministry secretaries-general and heads of department must make sure this decision is communicated to all officers under their supervision, including agencies and related departments for immediate implementation,” said the circular dated October 20 and issued by the chief secretary to the government.

Waze, which evolved from an earlier project called FreeMap Israel, was acquired by search giant Google in 2013 for US$1.15 billion but remains headquartered in Israel’s economic and tech hub of Tel Aviv.

Its business operations are governed by Israeli law, according to the app’s terms and conditions.

In an earlier statement on Tuesday, Anwar said the NCSC had discussed security risks linked to information and movement data of Malaysian Waze users, given that the app fell exclusively under the jurisdiction of Israeli law.

Security concerns over Waze usage were part of a broader discussion on Malaysia’s preparedness to deal with potential threats stemming from rapid advancements in post-quantum cryptography and autonomous artificial intelligence, the prime minister said.

“The use of local [navigation] application TuJu, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority, is encouraged as an alternative,” Anwar said.

The ban on Waze is the latest move by Malaysia to restrict businesses and activities linked to Israel, which Anwar has repeatedly accused of committing genocide after it launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, in retaliation for a deadly assault in southern Israel on the same day by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the latter of which killed around 1,200 people.

Anwar is seen as Southeast Asia’s most vocal critic of Israel and its closest ally, the US, over the Gaza war, which has killed at least 74,000 people – mostly civilians – and injured nearly 176,000 others, according to the latest data from Gaza’s health ministry.

Malaysia has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

In August, Malaysian authorities detained several Israel-bound shipments at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor state, as part of continued enforcement of a December 2023 decision to ban Israeli logistics giant ZIM Integrated Shipping Services and all Israeli-linked ships from using Malaysian port facilities.

“We will not allow our country to be used as a conduit for any shipment that supports or contributes to Israel’s military capabilities and its atrocities against Palestinians and other innocent lives,” Anwar said in a statement that month.

In July, Malaysia shut down a start-up academy in Johor launched by crypto investor Balaji Serinivasan following claims that Israeli students were studying there.

The Malaysian government said then that it would deport any Israelis with dual citizenship found in the country, triggering an outcry from several US lawmakers who urged the US administration to re-evaluate its ties with the Southeast Asian nation.