DAP Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng has branded the locally developed Tuju navigation app a “national embarrassment” and demanded accountability over its promotion as an alternative to Waze.
In a statement on Thursday, Lim said whoever advised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that Tuju was technologically capable of replacing Waze should be held accountable.
He said feedback from users suggested the app was ineffective, with complaints indicating that it could leave motorists worse off when navigating roads.
“Malaysians support replacing Waze applications that endanger security risks concerning information and data on citizens’ movements, when it is subject to the laws of the Israeli government, but not an application that is defective at best and at failure at worst,” he said.
While acknowledging the need to safeguard national security, Lim stressed that any alternative must undergo proper due diligence and rigorous testing to ensure it could perform Waze’s basic navigation functions.
He also questioned how much it had cost to develop Tuju and whether its designers had sought technical advice from experts in the United States, Europe, China or Japan.
Lim maintained that Anwar had been wrongly advised about the app’s capabilities and urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the project.
He called on Anwar to task the National Cyber Security Committee (NSC) with developing a substantially improved version of Tuju.
“How can the NSC be expected to do its job to ward off evolving cyber threats, strengthen the nation’s preparedness and digital sovereignty when it cannot even fulfil users’ road navigation needs?” he asked.
