PAS blasted today the listing a number of local ulama as suspected promoters of Wahabbism, with its deputy president Mohamad Sabu declaring the claims as "baseless".

NONE Asked about a briefing by the National Security Council (NSC), at which former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin and several other religious figures were allegedly linked to suspected terrorists, Mohamad ( left ) laughed off the claims as ridiculous.

"It is just like the six people detained under the Emergency Ordinance. If they are going to make such a claim, let us have some basis for this," he said.

"This is the BN's narrow propaganda, and it affects Malaysia's image in the international arena," Mohamad, who is widely known as Mat Sabu, said.

Malaysiakini

reported yesterday that the NSC was told yesterday that 40 young 'Umno ulamas' were also on a ' watch list ' of possible terror suspects.

Also present at the press conference were the party’s vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar, Husam Musa and Salahuddin Ayub and secretary-general Mustafa Ali and.

The NSC had told representatives of state religious councils and local Muslim religious leaders at the closed-door meeting that these suspects were being supported by the Saudi Arabian government and other countries, such as Kuwait and Bahrain.

Mahfuz pointed out that the allegations could force the Middle East nations to sever ties with Malaysia.

“In the spirit of Islam, this is not good,” the Pokok Sena MP added.

Husam added: “Not just Saudi Arabia, but all three countries. Is it not enough that we are already in a spat with France?”.

In this, he was hinting at the July 22 deportation of French lawyer William Bourdon, who had given a talk in Penang a day earlier on the controversial Scorpene submarine purchase.

Bourdon was due to speak at another forum in Petaling Jaya when immigration officials boarded the plane he took from Penang as soon as it landed at the KL International Airport and detained him. He was deported to Paris the same night.