CYBERJAYA: Civil servants who defy the ban on navigation app Waze can face disciplinary action, with department heads overseeing compliance.
“Any breach of the directive carries disciplinary implications,” said National Security Council (MKN) director-general Datuk Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin.
“The directive takes effect immediately. Its implementation will generally be left to individual department heads.”
Raja Nushirwan said the government had adopted a phased approach, prioritising public education while balancing national data security concerns with individual freedoms.
Rather than imposing an outright ban on the app, the government wanted Malaysians to understand the security risks and make informed choices.
“We must always balance security concerns with human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of choice. We leave it to Malaysians to make their own decisions,” he said.
Location and movement data collected by Waze, he said, could potentially be analysed and exploited using artificial intelligence by malicious parties.
Waze is subject to Israeli laws and jurisdiction.
“Firstly, Waze collects various detailed information about users, including location data, travel movements and device information. Depending on device settings, this information may be collected even when the application is not actively being used.
“When analysed collectively, such data can reveal users’ movement and activity patterns. For civil servants, this could be a highly sensitive issue,” he told a briefing on current national security issues here yesterday, according to Bernama.
Raja Nushirwan said the government would periodically assess the effectiveness of its approach before deciding whether further measures were necessary.
He admitted that an immediate nationwide ban on Waze could send a negative signal to application developers and the broader information and communications technology sector.
Raja Nushirwan said one reason for the decision concerned the laws governing the data, following the introduction of new terms of use by Waze’s owner, Waze Mobile Limited.
“The new terms of use state that the use of Waze is subject to Israeli law, which was not the case previously. As a result, any legal disputes would be subject to Israeli law, even though Malaysia does not recognise that country.
“I want to stress that this decision is not solely about technology, but also concerns the laws governing users’ data,” he told the briefing.
Also present was MKN National Cyber Security Agency chief executive Dr Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin.
Raja Nushirwan also cautioned the public against indiscriminately sharing data through apps, warning that it could be exploited.
“If we provide our data indiscriminately, it is like relying on fuel for our cars from a source we cannot trust. It is important for us to own and control our people’s data,” he said.
On Wednesday, the government decided to prohibit all civil servants from using the Waze navigation app to protect government information and users’ personal data from the risk of misuse by the Israeli regime.
Waze, meanwhile, has denied claims that it misuses personal data.
“Claims that Waze collects sensitive government information or allows any entity to exploit personal user data are completely false. Waze operates under strict privacy policies that protect user data and comply with global legal data protection standards,” a spokesman said.
