Editor’s Note: National DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng has claimed to have received complaints from some of the 1.7 million civil servants who are thoroughly confused as to which road navigation application to use now that they are banned from using Waze.
“TuJu has turned out to be a national embarrassment and failed miserably following the directive to 1.7 million civil servants by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to switch to TuJu over national security concerns,” fumed the Bagan MP as he vented his latest frustration on TuJu.
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was too hasty to urge the public to switch to TuJu from Waze ostensibly over security concerns that the former has links to Israel.
Every time Israel pops up on the Malaysian screen, it instantly raises alarm as though the country is under immediate attack.
Despite the detailed and solid explanation by Waze that the navigation application does not collect sensitive government information, its rebuttal was largely ignored.
It is enough for someone in the government circle to cry wolf (Israel!) for Putrajaya to take swift action against the application.
With immediate effect, civil servants are banned from using Waze with PMX even considering imposing a blanket ban.
The way the matter had been played up gives the impression that a state of emergency has been declared and all must rush to the barricade to defend our soil from this most hated enemy.
But when we examine the matter closely, we can hardly find anything that resembles the truth.
In come a half-baked alternative
PAS is right: where’s the proof that the app is surveilling users to obtain sensitive information about Malaysia? Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan correctly pointed out there’s “no proof at the moment. The burden of proof lies with the government”.
Nevertheless, the security scare has got the country all worked up and it appears only the Madani government is dead worried about the threat allegedly posed by Waze.
The only evidence that the navigation app is a Zionist agent is that it was born in Israel although it is now owned by Google.
Banning the use of Waze navigation app is easier said than done says PAS secgen Takiyuddin who uses the app himself although he calls it differently. The onus of proof is on the government he said on how Mr Wazay can be a threat to Malaysia’s national security https://t.co/7YS7zKJb63
— Melissa Goh (@MelGohCNA) October 26, 2026
Amid all this hullabaloo over an app that has been a reliable and efficient navigation and traffic guide for years, the public is suddenly introduced and encouraged to use a new locally developed software programme called TuJu.
TuJu is jointly developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd.
The project was started in 2022 and officially launched in 2025. According to LLM, the project was not given via open tender.
However, LLM chairman Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammed reportedly pointed out that it was financed by investors and not through government funding.
Nevertheless, the fact that no open tender was called is counter-productive. If there had been more bidders for the project, it would have given others the opportunity to come up with a more efficient program.
But the TuJu promoted by the premier is only meant for users of tolled expressways.
In short, TuJu is not an alternative to Waze. When Anwar pushed TuJu to the public limelight, there was a surge of users – and it immediately ran smack into technical glitches.
You switch on Waze and it promptly guides you with precision to wherever you want to go: turn left and then turn right, in 200 metres take the second turning in the roundabout and pronto! you have arrived at your destination.
Switch over to TuJu: traffic along the highway is congested, you are near a rest area, call this number for emergency help when your car stalls, jaga (watch out) there’s an enforcement camera nearby. And all this information is relayed to you while you are using the highway.
Perhaps, PMX was not aware of the limited capabilities of TuJu in his haste to boost a locally developed software program in the face of an obscure external threat.
In fact, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo told Parliament recently that civil servants can use other navigation apps and not necessarily only TuJu.
Hence, why didn’t PMX “advertise” other applications that are similar to Waze? Why push only TuJu?
On the day the PMX “advertised” the little-known TuJu, there was a surge in users on its site and inevitably the system crashed, earning it the opprobrium – “national disgrace”.
Perhaps, instead of making TuJu the sole device for navigational use, let it compete with Waze and other applications. TuJu has the backing of the premier but in a market economy, it is the people that call the shots.
Even if TuJu were to upgrade its software to incorporate comprehensive information like Waze, it would take a long time to reach that high level of efficiency.
Since there is no solid proof that Israel has been snooping on Malaysia through its agent Waze, let Malaysians continue to use this time-tested application free of political interference. = Oct 29, 2026
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: summerstellaskincare (@ SummerStellaT)/Instagram
