PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today remained adamant that prominent women's organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS) should be banned as it has "no right to talk about Islam".

This is despite criticisms levelled by many quarters, including its Pakatan allies, at the Islamic party for calling on the organisation to be banned.

Speaking to reporters at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Hadi said that the organisation is not even Islamic as it has many "contradictions" with Islam and that they have "abused" Islam's name to promote themselves.

"It is rather inappropriate for a person who is not a fisherman to talk about fishing or Somalian to talk about aerospace. The people who are most qualified to talk about aerospace would be NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

"If the Somalians want to talk about sea piracy, then maybe they would be qualified," said Abdul Hadi tongue-in-cheek.

kuala terengganu by election nomination day 060109 abdul wahid meet kit siang and hadi awang Hadi (extreme left) also said that SIS members do not come from "religious backgrounds" and "do not have the capabilities to talk about Islamic teachings", further adding that and it is only up to the prime minister's religious department to handle the issue with the organisation.

"All we have to say is that they are wrong (in their teachings) and we will give our views on Islam," he said.

He also stressed that there is no need to engage in dialogues with SIS as they have had similar discussions with the organisation in the past.

"We have had discussions with SIS to change their contradictory perceptions of Islamic teachings that was held between them and PAS women's leader and Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud in order to correct their views but they kept insisting with that their view was the correct one," said Abdul Hadi.

The call for the ban on the Sisters In Islam is the latest move by the Islamic party made during its 55th PAS muktamar (general assembly) in Shah Alam over the weekend.

Since then, it has drawn flak from various quarters including SIS senior manager Maria Chin Abdullah calling the ban as "undemocratic" and "retrogressive".

PAS' ally PKR has instead urged the party to engage SIS in dialogues or discussions in order to exchange views on Islamic teachings rather than calling for a total ban on the movement.

People's perception of PAS unaffected

According to Abdul Hadi, the call for the ban on the organisation will not affect the people's perception of PAS although it has come under fire for the call.

Hadi, instead blamed SIS for tarnishing Islam's image, because they talk about Islam without having the right knowledge," he said.

He brushed off suggestions that the party needed an "image-cleansing" exercise especially after they had received so much support from the people during the last general election and the many by-elections.

"We have received so much support from the public during Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu and Bukit Gantang by-elections and this upcoming by-election in Manek Urai will become a decisive factor (on the amount of the support we may receive)," he said.

On a separate issue, Hadi condemned the mass killing of Muslims in Narathiwat province southern Thailand two days ago and called for a thorough investigation to be conducted.

He also said that PAS is prepared to provide any assistance in resolving the matter.

Last Monday, masked gunmen stormed the mosque and sprayed worshippers with bullets during evening prayers.

Thailand's army chief has denied claims that the nation's security forces were involved in the attack.