Yeo urges consultation before any nationwide Waze ban
The Puchong MP says restrictions could affect more than six million Malaysian road users and calls for talks on keeping location data within the country.
DAP national publicity secretary Yeo Bee Yin has urged Malaysia’s government to consult technology specialists and affected stakeholders before considering a nationwide Waze ban. In an October 24 statement, she warned that an abrupt restriction could disrupt commuting, logistics and gig-economy work.
Her remarks followed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement that a complete ban remained possible once domestic alternatives became viable. Yeo, the Puchong MP, said more than six million active Malaysian road users relied on the navigation app.
A government circular has already prohibited civil servants from using Waze, citing concerns that the Israeli regime could obtain official logistics information and personal movement data. Waze rejected those allegations and said its operations worldwide complied with strict international privacy standards.
Anwar apologised on Facebook for the inconvenience but maintained that national security must be protected. He also sought patience with Tuju, a domestic alternative being refined by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and its private developer.
Yeo asked whether officials had discussed data safeguards with Alphabet, Waze’s US parent company, including requiring Malaysian location records to be stored on servers within Malaysia. She also questioned LLM’s ability to develop and sustain a crowdsourced navigation service, citing the computing capacity and specialist engineering needed. She urged the National Security Council to seek expert input and engage stakeholders transparently before deciding its next steps.
