PETALING JAYA: The government must establish clear accountability and compensation mechanisms before requiring or encouraging civil servants to use the TuJu navigation app for official duties, says Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon (pic).
The MCA deputy president said questions remained over who would bear legal responsibility if inaccurate map data, faulty route planning, software defects or missing safety alerts led users into dangerous areas or caused road accidents.
“The government cannot require civil servants to follow its directives while leaving individual drivers to shoulder the consequences of system failures,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Mah proposed six measures to address the concerns, including clearly defining the responsibilities of TuJu’s developers, operators, data providers and relevant government agencies.
He also called for compensation mechanisms for cases where system failures or navigation errors were proven to have caused accidents, with accessible claims procedures for personal injury and property damage.
Dr Mah called for independent experts to investigate serious accidents involving suspected navigation failures, with access to system logs and route data. Investigation findings should be disclosed in accordance with the law.
He also urged the government to regularly publish safety and performance data, including system failure rates, navigation errors, complaints and software updates, to enable independent scrutiny.
On road safety, Dr Mah stressed that actual road conditions, traffic signs, road markings and instructions from enforcement officers must take precedence over navigation prompts.
“Drivers need reasonable discretion to avoid danger,” he said.
He also cautioned against blanket liability exemptions, saying clear distinctions must be made between driver negligence, software defects, inaccurate data and procurement oversight to prevent parties from evading their legal obligations through disclaimers.
Dr Mah said the government needed to demonstrate the app’s safety, establish accountability for failures and provide lawful avenues for compensation if TuJu was designated for official use.
“The government cannot exercise its policymaking authority while disclaiming responsibility for technical shortcomings,” he said.
He added that public confidence in TuJu would depend on rigorous testing, independent oversight, transparent governance and effective remedies for those affected.
