The chairman of the religious bureau of the Kelantan Umno veterans council wants the proposed debate on Islamic issues to be between him and PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Prof Mohd Noor today welcomed the "positive response" of Nik Aziz to the challenge he issued, but now suggested that the debate be between himself and the Kelantan menteri besar only.

Mohd Noor had challenged PAS to a debate between the ulamas of the two parties in the course of criticising Nik Aziz for saying that people who did not vote for PAS were jahiliah, or ignorant.

"I will send a letter in the next few days on holding the debate with Nik Abdul Aziz. I want the debate to be between myself and him only, with no others involved, in a public place," he told reporters in Kota Bharu.

Accepting the challenge yesterday, Nik Aziz had said that a debate with Umno would be no problem "as long as the Quran is the middleman".

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's political secretary Mohd Fatmi Che Salleh, said that a debate between Umno and PAS ulamas could help settle religious issues and unite Muslims.

But a non-governmental organisation should act as middleman and a format must be found for the debate to ensure that it did not make matters worse, he told reporters today.

He feared that differences between leaders of Umno and PAS on religious issues, if not properly handled, could worsen the rift in the Malay community.

- Bernama