MELAKA — The government is taking into account national security and sovereignty concerns in considering a restriction on the use of the Waze navigation application among civil servants, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, said the move was not intended to impose a blanket ban on Waze but took into account the risks of monitoring the movements of government officers, particularly those handling national security matters.

“I want to explain why the issue of Waze was raised. First, this is not merely about the Waze application but its connection with a company headquartered in Israel.

“Second, there is the question of legal jurisdiction should a dispute arise with the company. In certain circumstances, agreements involving international companies can raise questions about which courts have jurisdiction to resolve disputes,” he said.

He was speaking at the announcement of candidates and launch of the PH Melaka election machinery for the Melaka state election at Stadium Hang Jebat here yesterday.

Also present were DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, Amanah president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, PKR vice-president and PH election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, and PH Melaka chairman Datuk Seri Adly Zahari.

Anwar said any further decision on a blanket ban on Waze would only be made after assessing whether existing alternatives had sufficient capabilities.

Acknowledging shortcomings in the implementation of measures related to Waze, he said he had taken note of public criticism, including concerns about the performance of local alternative navigation application TuJu, which he acknowledged still had shortcomings that needed to be addressed.