The government no longer approves applications to set up political organisations which use the name of any religion, said Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Azmi Khalid.
He said organizations that used religious names can confuse the public and create splits within the society.
However the government would not take action against existing political parties which used such names, Azmi told reporters at the Parliament lobby here on Monday.
Azmi said the government would act against non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which had religious platform but operated along political tracks as it breached the conditions of approval.
"The government will take appropriate action including revoking (registration of) the organisations," he said.
Azmi said the government gave its nod to the setting up of many religious NGOs as their activities were healthy for the general public.
Unfortunately, some politicians were involved with these NGOs and this had created misunderstanding in the society, he said.
"As politicians, they cannot be involved in activities of the NGOs," Azmi said.
Earlier, to a question from Datuk Goh Siow Huat (BN-Rasah) in the Dewan Rakyat, Azmi said the Registrar of Societies (ROS) would reject any application to set up a body which had the same name as that of an existing organisation.
He said the ROS would still reject the application even though the applicant had met all of the requirements.
However, the ROS would give his consent if the name submitted slightly differed from that of an existing organisation, Azmi said.