CYBERJAYA, Oct 22 — Civil servants who defy the ban on using navigation app Waze could face disciplinary action, National Security Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin said.
He said department heads will oversee compliance with the directive, issued through a circular by Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
“The directive takes effect immediately. Its implementation will generally be left to individual department heads.
“Any breach of a directive issued by the KSN carries disciplinary implications,” he told a briefing on national security issues here today.
Raja Nushirwan therefore urged civil servants to stop using Waze immediately to prevent external parties from exploiting their movement data.
He said the government is prioritising public education while balancing national data security concerns with individual freedom, adding that rather than imposing an outright ban on the public, the government wants 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.
“Under this approach, we leave it to Malaysians to make their own decisions,” he said.
Raja Nushirwan said the government would periodically assess the effectiveness of the approach before deciding if further measures are necessary.
He cautioned that an immediate nationwide ban on Waze could send a negative signal to app developers and the broader information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
Meanwhile, Raja Nushirwan also encouraged Malaysians to uninstall Waze and switch to local alternatives such as TuJu, developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM).
Yesterday, the government announced a ban on Waze for civil servants, citing concerns over the potential misuse of government information and users’ personal data by Israel.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the decision considered Waze Mobile Ltd’s status as a user-data controlled incorporation operating under Israeli law.
