# "Most importantly, Palestine is on the map": Malaysia banned Waze, and a free navigation app from an association squeezed into the top 10

> Source: https://stringers.io/en/apps/ios_6827931401.html (Stringers / 什么值得做, generated 2026-11-08)
> Stringers answers one question every day: what small product can one or two people build in a few months and actually make money from. Numbers come from 15 databases we collect daily, each with source and date.
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> The government banned civil servants from using Waze, the prime minister urged people to use local apps, and the officially recommended TuJu crashed and embarrassed itself. People looking to switch off Waze went hunting for working local alternatives. It launched into this gap, and through word of mouth in association circles and deeper localization, it squeezed into the top 10 of a category chart.

[Mobile App](https://stringers.io/en/apps/index.md) · iOS · written 11-6

N

Navigasi: Malaysia Maps & GPS · Mohd Haaziq Mohd Yusof

# "Most importantly, Palestine is on the map": Malaysia banned Waze, and a free navigation app from an association squeezed into the top 10

**What it is** A free navigation app built only for Malaysian roads: Malay-accented voice guidance, official toll fees, speed camera alerts, prayer times plus nearby mosques and surau along the route, CarPlay, and group convoy intercom for several cars. No ads, no sign-up.

**Why it took off** The government banned civil servants from using Waze, and the prime minister called for local apps. The officially recommended TuJu then crashed at launch, so people looking to replace Waze with a usable local alternative found Navigasi in that gap. Word of mouth through the association's contacts and deeper localization pushed it into the top 10 of the category chart.

**C** **How you could follow** Don't build another Malaysian local navigation app. Copy its approach instead: watch for the next "government bans a foreign app, official alternative stumbles" market, ship a free localized alternative built on open data within two weeks, and acquire users through local organizations and community sharing.

Grade C: this wave already has a dozen-plus entrants, PINTAZ leads by dozens of times, the buzz is fading, and this kind of product can only be free while carrying long-term maintenance costs. What's worth learning is the "local alternative after a policy event" playbook, and copying this specific app isn't worth it. Few people know about it yet

Data (updated daily) · Launched 2026-11-02 · Malaysia rating 19 · 11-08 best free overall chart rank #111 (Malaysia) · charted in 11-08 stores 4

iOS · Overall Top Free rank · by store

Data 2026-11-05 → 2026-11-08 (4 days, 4 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that day

iOS · Number of stores charted (top 200 on any chart)

Data 2026-11-05 → 2026-11-08 (4 days, 4 observations)

iOS · Ratings count · Malaysia

Data 2026-11-04 → 2026-11-08 (5 days, 5 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.

In late Oct 20 Malaysia's government told civil servants to stop using Waze, and the officially recommended alternative crashed on launch. Two weeks later, Navigasi, a free navigation app built by a tech professionals' association, went live on the App Store and within three days reached #6 in the Malaysia navigation free chart. It is more detailed than the dozen-plus "local Waze" clones that appeared around the same time, but it has only a few thousand users, charges nothing, and this wave is already receding. This piece covers how it caught the wave, and why you can no longer catch it.

### A five-star review

On Nov 4, someone in the Malaysia App Store gave Navigasi five stars with the title "Smooth and useful", and the body was a single line: "It has the air quality index, prayer times for our area, and most importantly, Palestine is on the map!"

Three more five-star reviews that same day: "Support local is the best, you can see speed cameras", "I think this is the best Malaysian map app", and "Locally made app, light and fast for now". The last line of the first review posted on the day it launched on Nov 2 reads: "Terbaik boss haaziq" (Boss Haaziq, the best).

As of Nov 6, iOS had 11 ratings in total, averaging 4.9 (App Store, Malaysia storefront). Few of these reviews praise how accurate the navigation is; most say "local" or "ours". That is why it took off.

### What it is

A navigation app built only for Malaysian roads, using OpenStreetMap maps. The first paragraph of the store page reads: "Malay or English voice navigation, toll fees known before you set out, speed camera alerts, and prayer time reminders with the nearest surau (small prayer hall). Free, no ads, no account needed."

- **Voice and interface** : two Malay-accented human voices (female Aisyah, male Nizzal), plus English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese; turn prompts styled like real road signs, blue for regular roads and green for highways.

- **Toll fees** : calculated from the official rates of the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) before departure for each route, so you can compare toll and toll-free roads.

- **Prayer** : prayer times based on JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) zones, with a reminder 10 minutes in advance, plus where mosques or surau are along the way; on long trips it also suggests jamak / qasar (combining and shortening prayers while traveling).

- **Konvoi (convoy)** : up to 20 cars drive together. Everyone shows on the map, there's walkie-talkie-style voice chat so you don't need to call, and you get warned if someone falls behind. Invite people with a WhatsApp or Telegram link.

- **Other** : CarPlay, one-tap reports for traffic jams / police / accidents / potholes / flooding, 700 EV charging stations, gas stations and rest stops.

- **Privacy** : "No account, no ads, no tracking." The last line of the store page reads: "This is a community project by Techsamana and does not represent any government agency."

It's made by Techsamana (Persatuan Profesional Sains dan Teknologi, a professional science and technology association). The App Store account is under Mohd Haaziq Mohd Yusof's personal name. He heads Aeronerve, a Malaysian drone and geospatial company, and its website says the navigation core engine comes from Aeronerve. So this isn't a one-person side project. It's a geodata company plus an association's network. The iOS app has been live for three days, with versions shipped from 1.1.7 to 1.1.15, and one update note lists 11 changes. The shipping speed looks like a small team using AI to write code (inference).

### Why now: the government banned Waze, and the official alternative flopped

The timeline is short:

| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 10-20 | The Chief Secretary issued a circular telling civil servants to stop using Waze immediately, citing Waze's Israeli background and data jurisdiction (Reuters, The Star). Prime Minister Anwar urged the public to switch to local apps and named TuJu. |
| 10-22 | TuJu, developed commissioned by JKR (the Public Works Department), passed 700k+ downloads in a single day (Astro Awani), then crashed. The tech outlet soyacincau's review said it had "bad navigation and confusing directions." |
| Around 10-26 | Navigasi soft-launched on Google Play, and the association posted "SOFT LAUNCH" on Facebook and Threads. |
| 10-27 | TV Pertiwi ran a story that was almost the press release verbatim. Association chairman Azril Hanafi said, "We don't want Malaysians to be mere users of technology built elsewhere." |
| 11-02 | iOS launch |
| 11-05 | On iOS, it ranked #6 in Malaysia's Top Free navigation chart (#125 overall Top Free). On Google Play, it entered the top 10 of Malaysia's maps and navigation Top Free chart for the first time. |
| 11-06 | #7 in the iOS navigation chart; #5 in the Play navigation chart, ahead of PINTAZ (#7) and Teras Map (#9). |

The demand was manufactured by a single circular: a group of people, pushed by "patriotism" and anti-Israel sentiment, wanted to replace Waze, and the official options weren't good. Navigasi launched right into that gap.

But look at the scale. Google Play global installs went from 934 on 10-30 to 3,151 by 11-06, up 2,217 in a week (Google Play, 11-06). The official site says users have logged 14,740 km of different routes in the past two weeks. That's a few thousand users. It cracked the top 10 in its category only because, in Malaysia's navigation chart, there isn't much volume below Google Maps and Waze.

At the same time, TuJu slid on the iOS Malaysia overall Top Free chart from #7 (10-28) to #130 (11-06). Waze itself was still #1 on the Play navigation chart and #3 on iOS. The "replace Waze" heat is already fading, and Navigasi is catching the tail.

### Where users came from: the association's circles, not TikTok

I found no sign of paid acquisition. Users seem to have come through layers of personal networks:

- **The association's own accounts** : a Facebook soft-launch post, Instagram posts tagged #SapotLokal #BuatanMalaysia, and a Threads post saying "Navigasi is now on the App Store."

- **Personal shares** : On Facebook, someone wrote "This is an app made by my friend Ts Azril Hanafi's team." On Threads, @wan_amir_assalihin posted in Oct 26: "Try Navigasi and give feedback. Kuasa. Kedaulatan. Kearifan. (Power. Sovereignty. Local wisdom.)" It got 4,500 views and 66 likes. Others posted Navigasi download links directly under posts complaining about TuJu.

- **Almost nothing on TikTok** : I found one video, with 27,8,016 views from Oct, asking "How long will we keep depending 100% on foreign technology?" Videos about TuJu and PINTAZ from the same period regularly hit hundreds of thousands of views. Nobody has mentioned it on X in the past month.

- **Store name** : It's "Navigasi: Malaysia Maps & GPS," with a Malay variant "Peta Jalan Malaysia." It follows the same naming pattern as the largest comparable app, PINTAZ, and targets the terms people searched for over the past two weeks (inference).

- **Built-in sharing** : Convoy invites and route sharing both use a WhatsApp link, and the web version opens without installing the app. For Malaysians, Hari Raya and long holidays mean "balik kampung" (going back to the hometown), with families driving together in several cars. This feature fits that well (inference; the next major holiday hasn't arrived, so the effect is not yet visible).

### Who else is competing: a dozen appeared in the same two weeks

The Straits Times listed 10+ Waze alternatives at the end of October. Navigasi wasn't among them.

| Product | Scale (11-06) | Navigasi compared |
|---|---|---|
| Waze | Play 686M installs globally; iOS Malaysia 130k ratings, #3 in navigation | The banned one; strongest community traffic data |
| Google Maps | iOS Malaysia 260k ratings, #1 in navigation | Far stronger in search and traffic, but no prayer times or local voice guidance |
| TuJu (commissioned by JKR) | 700k+ downloads one day after the ban; iOS overall chart fell from #7 to #130 | Official backing, but it crashes, requires sign-up, and has no CarPlay |
| PINTAZ | Play 166k installs, 44k over the past week; #4 in iOS navigation | A local navigation app built by an individual developer, with speed cameras, tolls, and CarPlay. Its scale is dozens of times Navigasi's, making it the biggest winner of this wave. |
| Teras Map | Play 2,601 installs, #9 in navigation | Built by a company that makes tolling systems, launched in the same period at a similar scale to Navigasi |
| LAPAN Nav | Play 319 installs | A one-person company using Google Cloud and Mapbox, supporting Tamil, with SEO landing pages |
| Arah Maps, OpenTuju | A few hundred installs / 0 ratings | Very small. OpenTuju is riding TuJu's name. |

Everyone is building "local + speed cameras + tolls." Navigasi adds three layers: religion (prayer reminders, nearby surau, jamak/qasar), family travel (convoy voice chat), and experience (Malay-accented voice, road sign colors, national car models like Myvi / Axia / Saga as the car icon). Add pure OpenStreetMap with no Google or Mapbox, and it makes the cleanest claim on "data sovereignty." These features let it edge a bit past PINTAZ despite launching later, but where its users came from was decided by the ban, not by these features.

### Where the money comes from: none

No in-app purchases, no ads, no subscriptions, and no account required. The association calls it a "community project." Server and maintenance costs are probably covered by Aeronerve or the association (unverified). Costs for traffic data, map corrections, and voice servers will rise with users, and the more people use it, the more it burns cash.

### If it were you

**C: Worth learning from, not worth copying for profit.** A dozen-plus players have already crowded into Malaysia's wave. PINTAZ is dozens of times ahead, the heat is fading, and this category doesn't charge money to begin with. What's worth studying is the playbook, for the next time some country suddenly wants to replace a foreign app.

**Who it suits** : small teams with existing map, payment, or messaging foundations, living in or familiar with a market where "data sovereignty" policies are likely (Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Asia), and able to ship within two weeks.

**Who it doesn't suit** : anyone hoping to make money from navigation. Free is the entry ticket in this category. Charging loses to official versions and big tech. Navigation also carries long-term costs, and traffic data and map corrections need constant upkeep. And don't go build another "local Waze" in Malaysia now: even with Navigasi's level of detail, it has only a few thousand users.

**How to do it:**

- Watch for news like "government halts a foreign app and names a local alternative." Official alternatives are usually outsourced, and they get overwhelmed at launch, so this gap lasts one to two weeks.

- Localize down to daily habits, not just translation: prayer times, places of worship, hometown convoys, local car models, what real road signs look like. Nobody in Navigasi's reviews praises its routing accuracy. They praise "this is ours."

- Build a usable version from open data: OpenStreetMap for the base map, plus public government data on tolls, transit, and air quality for local content. It's low cost, and it matches the "no foreign companies" message.

- Soft-launch on Google Play to collect feedback, then go to iOS a week later. Shipping eight versions in three days is a pace worth copying.

**How to acquire users** : rely on community and emotion, not paid ads. Have a credible local organization front it (an association, alumni group, or industry body), send a press release to small local media, get people in your circle to post "try it and give feedback" on Facebook and Threads, and leave links under posts complaining about the official alternative. Name the store listing after the terms people are searching for right now. Then build in a feature that pulls others in, like convoy voice chat, shared through WhatsApp links.

**When the window closes** : in this Malaysia wave, TuJu has already dropped from #7 to #130 on the iOS overall chart, so the window is probably mostly closed (inference). If the government moves from "civil servants stop using it" to a full Waze ban, a new window opens, and the apps already on the charts will get the first of it.

**Signs that this read is wrong** : ① Malaysia announces a full Waze ban, multiplying total demand for local navigation several times over; ② Navigasi or PINTAZ gets a partnership with the government, a carmaker, or JKR that turns free users into revenue; ③ Around the year-end long holidays, Konvoi drives clear multi-person growth, with Play installs rising by more than 10k in a week.

**Data and sources** : App Store Malaysia charts, ratings, and reviews (11-04 to 11-06); App Store listing and 1.1.15 update notes (11-06); Google Play install counts and Malaysia navigation chart (10-29 to 11-06); navigasi.techsamana.my; TV Pertiwi 10-27 report; Threads @wan_amir_assalihin (10-26), @techsamana.my; Reuters 10-21, The Star 10-20, Straits Times, soyacincau 10-22, Straits Times October list of Waze alternatives; Astro Awani TikTok 10-22. iOS download counts are not public, so scale is estimated from ratings and Play installs.

[iOS store page ↗](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6827931401)

**Research notes: competitor table, acquisition evidence, full research report**

Competitors

| Name | Where | Launched | Scale | How it differs from this one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waze | iOS | 2009 | iOS MY 130k ratings, category #3; Play 686M installs globally | The banned target, with the strongest community data but the baggage of Israel ties and data jurisdiction concerns. Navigasi counters with localization, privacy, and religious features. |
| Google Maps | Big-company features | 2012 | iOS MY 260k ratings, category #1 | Far stronger in search and traffic, but no Malay-accented voice, prayer/surau features, or LLM toll details |
| TuJu(LLM / Prosignal) | iOS | 2024-06 | iOS 2,231 rating; 700k+ downloads one day after the ban (Awani); iOS overall chart #10-28 → #7 → #11-06 → #130 | Official backing but skews toward highways; crashed on launch, poor navigation, no CarPlay, requires sign-up. Navigasi fills exactly these gaps. |
| PINTAZ | iOS | 2026-06-01 | iOS MY category #4, 183 rating; Play 166k installs, +7k in 44 days | The first local navigation app to launch, and the biggest winner of this wave. Navigasi has more prayer/surau features, Konvoi, road-sign-style UI, and uses pure OSM with no account required. |
| Teras Map(Teras Core Technology) | Android | 2026-11 | Installs on Play 2,601, MY category #9 | Comes from a toll-lane system vendor, same timing and similar scale; differentiation not deeply verified |
| LAPAN Nav | Android | 2026-10/11 | Installs on Play 319, MY category #19 | A one-person company using Google Cloud + Mapbox, with SEO landing pages and Tamil language support; no prayer or convoy features |
| Arah Maps(Durianator Studio) | iOS | 2026-10 | Play 168 installs | Focused on search + AES/police alerts, narrow feature set |
| OpenTuju | iOS | 2026-10-31 | 0 rating, iOS MY category #31–45 | An indie dev riding on the TuJu name, very small volume |
| Sygic / HERE WeGo / Petal / Organic Maps / OsmAnd | Other | Already existed | Each has its existing user base | International general-purpose navigation, lacking local details |

Where users come from

- **Verified** **Platform/policy event** : 2026-10-20 The government banned civil servants from using Waze, and the PM urged people to switch to local apps (Reuters, The Star); TuJu's outages and bad reviews left a vacuum (Straits Times, soyacincau)

- **Verified** **NGO's own social media + press release** : Techsamana's Facebook 'SOFT LAUNCH' post, Instagram #SapotLokal, Threads @techsamana.my; TV Pertiwi ran press-release-style coverage 2026-10-27

- **Verified** **Personal network reposts (Facebook, Threads)** : hazwan.CoachAwe 'team kawan saya Ts Azril Hanafi', ibnunurz, hans7a posts; @wan_amir_assalihin's Threads post with 4.5K views and 311 likes; Navigasi links pasted in the comments of TuJu complaint posts

- **Verified** **TikTok** : only one video from @hanif.msalleh 2026-10-27, with 8,016 plays and 446 likes

- Inferred **Store search / category charts** : names like 'Malaysia Maps & GPS' and 'Peta Jalan Malaysia' target high-intent keywords; category chart placement itself drives volume

- Inferred **Web version + WhatsApp deep links / Konvoi invites** : the website works directly in a browser, navigasi.techsamana.my/ke deep links, and Konvoi invites go out via WhatsApp/Telegram

## Navigasi: Malaysia Maps & GPS (iOS id6827931401) research report

> Research date 2026-11-06. Data sources: our appstore / googleplay libraries (DuckDB, as of 2026-11-06), iTunes lookup, the official site navigasi.techsamana.my, news and social media (Jina search / TikHub).

### One line

马来西亚 NGO「Techsamana(Persatuan Profesional Sains dan Teknologi,科技专业人士协会)」做的本土导航 App,基于 OpenStreetMap,主打马来语真人语音、LLM 官方过路费、AES 测速相机、JAKIM 祈祷时间 + 沿途 surau、CarPlay、家庭车队对讲「Konvoi」。完全免费、无广告、无需注册。它是 2026-10-20 马来西亚政府禁止公务员用 Waze 之后冒出来的那一波「本土 Waze 替代品」里,产品做得最完整的之一。

### 1. Why it took off

#### 1. Timing: government bans Waze, PM names 'use the local app'

- 2026-10-20 The chief secretary issued a circular: civil servants must stop using Waze immediately, citing Waze's Israeli background and data jurisdiction concerns (Reuters, AP, The Star 2026-10-21; NACSA FAQ). PM Anwar also urged the public to try local apps, naming TuJu (The Star 2026-10-20; Straits Times). The government also said it could ban Waze entirely if local alternatives proved effective (The Star Facebook post).

- The officially recommended TuJu (developed by Prosignal under contract with the Malaysian Highway Authority's LLM) gained 700k+ downloads in a single day (Astro Awani TikTok @501awani, 2026-10-22), but then crashed and had poor navigation (Straits Times, soyacincau 2026-10-22 review: 'poor navigation, confusing directions'), and at one point even redirected users to Google Maps for navigation (Facebook video).

- This left a vacuum: users, driven by patriotic sentiment and opposition to Israel, wanted to replace Waze, but the official option didn't work well. Navigasi launched right in this window (Play 10-26/27 soft launch, iOS 11-02).

#### 2. Data: within 3 days, reached top 10 in Malaysia's navigation free chart

- iOS (appstore library): 11-04 Malaysia Navigation free chart #24 → 11-05 #6 (overall free chart #125) → 11-06 #7 (overall free chart #134). Rating count 0 → 1 → 6 (data card); by the iTunes lookup that day it had reached 11 ratings, averaging 4.9. Brunei category chart #13, Singapore #69, Bahrain #140 (spillover). The version iterated from 3 to 1.1.15 within 1.1.7 days.

- Android (googleplay library, cumulative global installs): 10-30 934 → 11-03 2,206 → 11-05 2,643 → 11-06 3,151, +2,217 over the last 7 days; 11-05 first entered the Malaysia Maps & Navigation free chart at #10,11-06 and rose to #5 (passing PINTAZ #7 and Teras Map #9).

- Self-reported on the official site: over the past 2 weeks, Navigasi users have driven 14,740 km on different roads (Selangor 3,336 km, Johor 2,411 km...). This shows real driving use, but scale is still in the thousands of users.

- For comparison: TuJu, in the same wave, fell from #10-28 to #7 on the iOS Malaysia overall free chart, then dropped to #11-06 130; Waze itself still ranks #1 in the Play category and #3 in the iOS category. In other words, the 'switch from Waze' momentum is fading, and Navigasi is picking up the tail, rising within the 'local alternative' field.

#### 3. Where users came from (growth tactics)

All growth is organic, driven by community and sentiment. No evidence of paid acquisition was found:

- **NGO's own channels + press-release-style news** : Techsamana's Facebook post 'SOFT LAUNCH: NAVIGASI OLEH TECHSAMANA', Instagram (#SapotLokal #BuatanMalaysia), Threads @techsamana.my ('Aplikasi Navigasi kini di AppStore'). TV Pertiwi 2026-10-27 ran coverage based almost verbatim on the press release (statement from chairman Ts. Azril Hanafi).

- **Personal reposts from networks / opinion leaders** : on Facebook, 'apps oleh team kawan saya Ts Azril Hanafi' (hazwan.CoachAwe), ibnunurz's 'Aplikasi navigasi buatan pakar Malaysia gantikan Waze', hans7a, Syafiee Ariffin and other personal posts; someone replied directly under a TuJu complaint post with Navigasi's Play link (comments on aidilbinkhalid's post).

- **Long Threads posts** : @wan_amir_assalihin 2026-10-26 'I've boycotted Waze since 2021... this week I finally found one', 4.5K views, 311 likes; @ssarah3mran video 'trying Navigasi tomorrow'.

- **TikTok** : found only one video from @hanif.msalleh (2026-10-27,8,016 plays, 446 likes, 'how many more years will we depend 100% on foreign tech?'). Compared with TuJu and PINTAZ videos that routinely reach hundreds of thousands of plays, Navigasi barely gained traction on TikTok.

- **X** : 0 posts in the x-radar corpus over the last 30 days.

- **Store search** : the name captures high-intent terms like 'Malaysia Maps & GPS' and 'Peta Jalan Malaysia', following the same naming pattern as PINTAZ's 'PINTAZ: Malaysia Maps & GPS'. During the two weeks when people search 'Malaysia GPS / navigasi', category chart placement itself is driving volume (inferred, not verified).

- **Web version / PWA** : navigasi.techsamana.my/app works directly in the browser, and the 'navigasi.techsamana.my/ke' deep link lets routes open straight from WhatsApp. Konvoi invites also go via WhatsApp / Telegram links, building a viral loop around family trips (the 'balik kampung' convoy).

#### 4. Why people stay

- Free, no ads, no account required. The privacy message ('we don't sell data, we don't store trips') speaks directly to the worry about Waze data going to Israel.

- Localization goes deeper than comparable apps: Malay-accented human voice (Aisyah / Nizzal), road-sign-colored instruction cards, E2/N9/FT50 route numbers, LLM official rates for 217 toll plazas, AES/AWAS cameras, zone-based JAKIM prayer times plus nearby surau, jamak/qasar (combined/shortened prayer) reminders for long trips, car icon choice among Myvi/Axia/Saga, real-time Rapid KL bus positions, and the IPU air quality index.

- Community reporting + points / badges / state leaderboards (badges like 'Peronda Subuh'), bringing Waze's community mechanics over.

- Not monetized: no in-app purchases, no ads, no subscriptions. Techsamana is an association, and Navigasi is positioned as a 'community project'. No monetization path exists; the money presumably comes from the developers / Aeronerve out of pocket (unverified).

### 2. Who's building it: team and resources

- The App Store account is registered under **Mohd Haaziq Mohd Yusof** personally (the same account also has the Al-Mathurat prayer app and BrushQuote). He is CEO / PM of Aeronerve (a Malaysian drone and geospatial solutions company), describing himself as 'design, test and ship LLM systems and AI workflows' (LinkedIn, haaziq.dev/cv.pdf). The official site states 'Enjin Teras Navigasi oleh Aeronerve', meaning the core navigation engine comes from Aeronerve.

- So this isn't purely a hobby project: a geospatial company plus connections through a professional technology association built a public-interest product. Shipping 3 versions in 8 days with a huge feature set suggests a small team iterating fast with AI-assisted coding (inferred).

### III. Competitors

| Product | Platform | Launched | Scale (as of 11-06) | How Navigasi differs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waze | iOS/Android | 2009 | iOS MY 130k ratings, category #3; Play 686M installs globally | The banned target; strongest community data, but carries the Israel / data jurisdiction baggage |
| Google Maps | iOS/Android | 2012 | iOS MY 260k ratings, category #1 | Strongest search and traffic data, but a foreign company; no prayer or local details |
| TuJu(LLM / Prosignal) | iOS/Android | 2024-06 | iOS 2,231 rating; 700k+ downloads in one day (Awani); iOS overall chart #7→#130 | Official backing, skews toward highways; crashed on launch, poor navigation, no CarPlay, requires sign-up |
| PINTAZ | iOS/Android | iOS 2026-06-01 | iOS MY category #4, 183 rating; Play 166k installs, +7k in 44 days | A first-to-market indie-built local navigation app with AES, toll rates, and CarPlay; several dozen times Navigasi's size. Navigasi goes deeper on prayer, Konvoi, road-sign UI, and privacy |
| Teras Map(Teras Core Technology) | Android (iOS not verified) | 2026-11 first | Installs on Play 2,601, MY category #9 | From TERAS Group, which builds toll-lane systems; launched nearly at the same time, similar scale |
| Arah Maps(Durianator Studio) | iOS/Android | 2026-10 | Play 168 installs | Focused on search + AES/police alerts; recommended by a halalchecker blog; very small volume |
| LAPAN Nav(Fractal Digital / Leslie Chan) | Android + web | 2026-10/11 | Installs on Play 319, MY category #19 | A one-person company using Google Cloud + Mapbox with Tamil language support; builds SEO landing pages |
| OpenTuju(CHEAH Wen Feng) | iOS | 2026-10-31 | 0 rating, iOS category #31–45 | An indie dev riding on the TuJu name |
| Sygic / HERE WeGo / Petal / Organic Maps / OsmAnd / Apple Maps | Multiple platforms | Already existed | Each has its existing user base | International general-purpose navigation, lacking local details like Malay human voice, prayer features, and LLM toll rates (NST counted 2026-10+ alternatives 10) |

Bottom line: **competition is very dense** , and most of it appeared within the same two weeks in October; Navigasi isn't the first, and PINTAZ is the biggest winner of this wave.

### 4. Differentiation

- Everyone else does "local + AES + tolls." Navigasi's extra edge is: ① **a cultural/religious layer** : JAKIM prayer-time alerts + surau stops along the route + jamak/qasar. That's a real daily need for Malay Muslim drivers, and no rival covers it fully. ② **a family-trip layer** : Konvoi 20 convoy intercom + WhatsApp invites, for the raya and holiday "balik kampung" car convoys. ③ **an experience layer** : Malay-accented human voice guidance, road-sign colors, local car models and badges, CarPlay 3D. ④ **ideological consistency** : OSM data, no reliance on Google/Mapbox (LAPAN admits it uses Google Cloud + Mapbox), no ads, no account. For the "boycott Israel / data sovereignty" crowd, the story is the cleanest.

- These differences are why it could break into the top 5 on Play and top 7 on iOS amid a pile of local alternatives. But the **main reason it took off is timing** (the Waze ban plus the TuJu flop left a vacuum). Differentiation decides how much of that wave it captures, not where the wave came from.

### 5. Visibility

- **Few people know about it yet; it's being passed around in small circles** . The only coverage is one TV Pertiwi piece, written like a press release. Mainstream outlets (NST, The Star, SAYS, soyacincau) listed Waze alternatives without mentioning it (NST's list names Google Maps, PINTAZ, HERE, Apple, TomTom, Sygic, OsmAnd, Petal, Moovit, Organic Maps). TikTok has one video with 8K views, and X has no discussion. It isn't making money, and there's no public revenue question either.

- Copycats: Navigasi is itself part of the copycat wave. Teras Map, Arah Maps, LAPAN Nav and OpenTuju launched alongside it, and I haven't seen anyone specifically copying Navigasi.

### 6. What to borrow

1. **The "alternative window" after a platform or policy event** : when the officially recommended alternative fails, a smaller team that does better can reach the category chart within two weeks. Speed is the key (Play first, iOS a week later, 3 days and 8 versions).

2. **Localizing down to religious and family customs** (prayer + surau + convoy), not just translating the language. Among look-alike local alternatives, this is the easiest thing to remember.

3. **Built on OSM + open data** (LLM fare rates, data.gov.my transit, JAS air quality, Open Charge Map). Low cost, and it fits the data-sovereignty story.

4. **WhatsApp deep links + Konvoi invites** form a built-in sharing loop, which suits markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East where WhatsApp dominates.

5. The store name matches high-intent search terms ("Malaysia Maps & GPS").

### 7. Uncertainties

- Real iOS downloads are unknown (only 11 ratings, category #7). Play's 3,151 installs are cumulative worldwide and may partly come from web referrals.

- Whether the "Malaysia-wide Waze ban" actually happens sets the ceiling for this category. For now, interest is fading (TuJu dropped sharply on the overall chart).

- Funding and long-term upkeep: no monetization; it relies on Aeronerve / the association (unverified). Server, traffic and map-correction costs will grow with users.

- Couldn't verify whether Teras Map is on iOS or the scale of Arah Maps on iOS. The iTunes search API is rate-limited.

- Couldn't find any paid promotion (Meta ads etc.). Our ad library only tracks products on our list, so not finding it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

### Sources

- iTunes lookup id6827931401(country=my),2026-11-06

- appstore library app_day / app_profile (cc=my, bn, sg, bh), 2026-11-04~06

- googleplay library app_day (com.techsamana.navigasi), chart_rank (my, MAPS_AND_NAVIGATION, free), app_profile, 2026-10-29~11-06

- [navigasi.techsamana.my/](https://navigasi.techsamana.my/)

- [tvpertiwi.com/2026/10/27/techsamana-lancar-aplikasi-navigasi…](https://tvpertiwi.com/2026/10/27/techsamana-lancar-aplikasi-navigasi-pilihan-baharu-pengguna-aplikasi-peta/)

- [www.threads.com/@wan_amir_assalihin/post/De9M0OGiUkr/](https://www.threads.com/@wan_amir_assalihin/post/De9M0OGiUkr/)

- [www.threads.com/@techsamana.my/post/DfWhVc8GJN7/ada/](https://www.threads.com/@techsamana.my/post/DfWhVc8GJN7/ada/)

- Facebook: techsamana soft-launch post; posts from hazwan.CoachAwe, ibnunurz, hans7a, aidilbinkhalid

- TikTok @hanif.msalleh 2026-10-27 (TikHub search); @501awani 2026-10-22 (TuJu 700K downloads)

- [www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-bans-civil-serva…](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-bans-civil-servants-using-mapping-app-waze-citing-links-israel-2026-10-21/)

- [www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/20/govt-encourages-us…](https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/20/govt-encourages-use-of-tuju-navigation-app-in-place-of-waze)

- [www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysias-tuju-highway-nav…](https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysias-tuju-highway-navigation-app-hit-by-technical-disruptions-amid-user-surge)

- [soyacincau.com/2026/10/22/malaysia-urge-malaysians-ditch-waz…](https://soyacincau.com/2026/10/22/malaysia-urge-malaysians-ditch-waze-for-tuju-map-navigation-review/)

- [www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1561324/more-10-navigatio…](https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/1561324/more-10-navigation-apps-available-waze-alternatives)

- [www.halalchecker.app/blog/waze-alternatives-malaysia](https://www.halalchecker.app/blog/waze-alternatives-malaysia)

- [lapan-nav.com/waze-alternative](https://lapan-nav.com/waze-alternative)

- [my.linkedin.com/in/mohdhaaziq](https://my.linkedin.com/in/mohdhaaziq) ;[haaziq.dev/cv.pdf](https://haaziq.dev/cv.pdf) ;[aeronerve.my/](https://aeronerve.my/)

- x-radar search for "Navigasi Techsamana / techsamana" over the past 30 days: 0 posts

This article was written by AI from public data and the data we collect daily. Numbers are sourced, and inferences are labeled.