A political party's symbol is the essence of its struggle and history, thus, a party with the emblem of a keris ( a traditional Malay weapon) such as Umno signifies violence.

Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat said this today when he took a swipe at Umno and Barisan Nasional for labelling PAS as "militant".

"Look at Umno's symbol, it is an unsheathed keris, not one that is wrapped with a sarung. How can they (Umno) call a party with the symbol of the moon (PAS) violent?" he queried.

"It doesn't make sense at all to say we are terrorists. Where is the proof?

"We have never taken up arms since we came into existence in 1951. The only instruments we have used so far are microphones and pens," Nik Aziz told malaysiakini in an interview in Kota Bharu.

Since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in America, the government has come down hard on PAS and other opposition parties.

The home ministry has detained several people under the controversial Internal Security Act for being involved in the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM) said to be linked to PAS.

In an effort to safeguard national security, the ministry has also imposed an indefinite ban on ceramah (public talks) as it claimed that such gatherings often turned violent.

Umno jealous

Nik Aziz said history has proven that it was Umno which has been involved in several violent clashes, such as the bloody racial riots of May 13 in1969.

The spiritual leader also blamed Umno for the Memali incident in 1985 where a PAS leader, popularly known as Ibrahim Libya, and several policemen were killed during clashes.

"They (Umno) burn people alive, kill them on the streets. You can see that violence does not come from us," he said.

However, Nik Aziz said he understood Umno's anger towards the Muslim-based party.

"They (Umno) kept saying we cannot win but finally we did. In fact, we have gained more support.

"If I were Umno, I would also be jealous. I would try hard to cover up my shame. That is why they do all sorts of things to run us down," he added.

Nik Aziz, who has helmed Kelantan since the party took over in 1990, also denied the claim that there was an effort by Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines to set up an Islamic state.

PAS also governs neighbouring Terengganu and is said to be making inroads into several other states.

'We reject taking up arms': Nik Aziz