The Malaysian government is encouraging Malaysians to switch from Waze to locally developed navigation apps such as Tuju, citing concerns over data security and sovereignty. In fact, civil servants have been banned from using Waze during official government duties following a decision by the National Cyber Security Committee (JKSN).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also recommended Tuju, a navigation app developed by Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd for the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), as an alternative to Waze.
But is Tuju actually good enough to replace Waze?
We decided to give Tuju a try, and the experience was frustrating. From poor turn-by-turn navigation to confusing instructions and questionable usability, the app has serious shortcomings that could potentially become a road safety hazard.
Tuju’s turn-by-turn navigation is frustratingly bad
The biggest problem with Tuju is its turn-by-turn navigation, which is arguably the most important feature anyone would expect from any navigation app.
During our testing, the app frequently repeated generic instructions such as “keep straight”, “keep straight” and “merge”, without providing relevant context about upcoming junctions or exits.
Things get worse when navigating complicated roads around Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, where multiple highway ramps and exits can be located close to each other.
We encountered situations where we needed to keep far left to take the correct exit, but Tuju continued telling us to keep straight.
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As shown by other users, Tuju may sometimes just show a straight line navigation as shown above which is even pointless unless you’re driving a flying car.
There’s also no proper lane guidance to indicate which lane you should be in before approaching complicated intersections.
This is something that Waze and Google Maps fair better, particularly when approaching highway interchanges. In addition, Tuju also lacks live traffic data which is a critical feature drivers need to ensure that they are on the fastest route.
To make matters worse, we also encountered broken turn information where Tuju displayed raw HTML code instead of proper navigation instructions.
These aren’t just minor inconveniences. If drivers cannot rely on the instructions, they may end up looking at their phone more frequently to figure out where to go. And when you’re driving on a busy highway, that’s an unnecessary distraction.
Poor usability, no Android Auto and Car Play support
Besides its questionable navigation instructions and lack of live traffic data, Tuju also suffers from several usability issues.
One thing we noticed is that the Android and iOS versions look and feel completely different, almost as if they were developed by separate teams.
During our testing, we also found no speed limit warnings, which are vital to keep drivers informed about the speed limit of the road they are travelling on.
Another glaring omission is the lack of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support.
This means drivers with modern infotainment systems cannot display Tuju’s navigation directly on their vehicle’s built-in screen.
We also encountered an annoying audio issue when using Tuju on an iPhone connected to Apple CarPlay. Whenever the app played an audio navigation alert, it interrupted music playback, but the music did not automatically resume afterwards. As a result, you had to keep on tapping your infotainment display to resume your music.
While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, it adds to the overall frustration of using the app.
Instead of making navigation easier, Tuju is creating unnecessary confusion and frustration.
Tuju requires permission to track a lot of data
Another difference between Tuju and Waze is that Tuju requires users to log in before accessing its navigation features.
On the iOS version we tested, users are offered the option to sign in with Google, Apple or email. Alternatively, they can register for a new account using their email address.
In comparison, Waze allows users to navigate without creating an account but you’ll lose out on saved locations and the ability to make Waze reports.
Upon logging in, Tuju displayed a permission request screen informing users about its data tracking practices.
The notice states that the app tracks location, motion and usage behaviour, which may be shared with a Malaysian government body for road user analysis and product enhancement. In addition, the app may also collect more information such as product interaction, usage data, credit and fraud information, names, payment information, precise location, phone numbers, advertising data, physical addresses, user IDs, approximate location, email addresses, contact information, device IDs and other financial information.
That’s quite an extensive list for an application that’s meant to help you to get from point A to B.
Since this app is from LLM, it is also worth highlighting is that Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) does not apply to the Federal and State Governments as well as agencies under Section 3(1) of the Act.
Why is the government asking Malaysians to ditch Waze?
As reported earlier, the government issued a directive prohibiting civil servants from using Waze during official duties.
According to the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA), the decision was made following a meeting of the National Cyber Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
NACSA explained that Waze collects various types of information, including location, movement, travel and device information. It also highlighted that Waze’s terms of use are governed by Israeli law, with disputes falling under the jurisdiction of courts in Tel Aviv.
The agency highlighted the potential risk that repeated collection of location and movement information could reveal users’ travel patterns and activities.
However, NACSA said in its FAQ that there is no evidence that Waze has conducted such movement-pattern analysis on its users.
Although the ban applies only to civil servants performing official government duties, they are also encouraged to uninstall Waze and switch to locally developed alternatives.
According to NACSA, this is part of efforts to strengthen national information security and data sovereignty, including addressing potential location data collection outside working hours. Besides Tuju, NACSA also recommends PINTAZ as another local navigation option.
Tuju has a long way to go before replacing Waze
To be fair, Tuju does offer some useful features, particularly for Malaysian highway users.
These include access to highway traffic information, CCTV feeds, toll charges, rest stop information and other highway-related facilities.
However, these additional features cannot make up for poor navigation. If a navigation app cannot provide clear and accurate turn-by-turn instructions, it fails at its primary job.
The user ratings aren’t particularly encouraging either. At the time of our review, Tuju was rated 2.5 out of 5 stars on the Google Play Store and 2.6 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store.
Have you tried Tuju? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below.
