Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim encouraged Malaysians to use the locally developed TuJu highway navigation app, rather than Waze, which is based in Israel. Government servants, on the other hand, were banned from using the latter entirely. Due to the recommendation, though, the app was hit by a sharp increase in users. This, in turn, caused technical disruptions for the app.
In an official statement shared through its official social media channels, the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) said that it is working with the application provider, Prosignal Consortium Sdn Bhd (PCSB) in identifying the source of the disruption, as well as restoring system stability and improving the app’s capacity to accommodate more users.
Additionally, LLM is also monitoring user feedback regarding navigation functions, route information accuracy and the overall user experience of the TuJu app. With that in mind, the administrative body says that it is also working on meeting the needs of users, and not just improving system stability.
The Government To Lend A Hand
Meanwhile, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said that the government will be working with both TuJu and fellow local navigation platform Pintaz to strengthen their services. This will be part of the wider GovTech push to improve digital public services. The Star quotes the minister as saying that “we will look at how we can work with the relevant parties, particularly TuJu, Pintaz and others. We want to build better apps and strengthen the services already available”.
In the same vein, responding to Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman’s comment on her own poor experience with TuJu, Gobind says that the app was being expanded to provide wider coverage beyond highways, including traffic information on routes leading to major expressways. After all, when LLM launched TuJu last year, it was focused primarily on expressways. While it does provide unique features like highway CCTV feeds, they don’t quite make up for lacking functionality on non-expressway roads.
(Source: LLM / Facebook, The Star)
