The need to have an embassy in Malaysia to represent the Vatican has to be reviewed by the government, Jalur Tiga (Jati) president Hasan Ali says.

Jati and several other Islamic NGOs delivered this message to the government at a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainudin, Hasan said in a statement today.

NONE "Jati is steadfast in our stand that the government should review the need for a Vatican embassy in this country," Hasan ( left ) added.

This follows Jati's earlier joint statement with Perkasa that called for Vatican envoy Joseph Marino to retract his statement on the use of 'Allah' by Christians and for Marino to be replaced.

Hasan said Jati in its meeting with the deputy minister also stressed that it could not accept Marino's apology for his statement backing the use of the word 'Allah' by Christians in Malaysia, as per the statement issued by the Vatican embassy.

"Jati feels the apology should come from (Marino's) mouth, the same mouth that uttered the statement that intervened with Malaysia's soverignity.

"The same statement... hurt the feelings of Muslims in this country and if left uncorrected could cause unwanted friction among believers of different religions," he said.

'Promise never to repeat the same thing'

Hasan said Jati also wants the embassy to officially retract the statement made by its envoy and "promise never to repeat the same thing in the future".

The Vatican City embassy, known as the Embassy of the Holy See, was set up in Kuala Lumpur in January this year.

It followed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Vatican City following Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's visit there in 2011.

Najib was the second Malaysian prime minister to visit Vatican City, after Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who called on Pope John Paul II in 2002.