More than 1,000 ardent supporters of PAS spiritual advisor Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat rallied behind their leader in Kuala Lumpur late last night in a symbolic show of force, against their arch rival Umno.

NONEThe rally took place at the former PAS headquarters in Taman Melewar, Ampang last night and was punctuated by the crowds five-minute 'We support Tok Guru' chant.

This is the second time in as many days thousands of PAS supporters have rallied behind Nik Aziz, after several hundred Umno supporters rallied against him in Kota Bahru on Thursday.

A 2,000 strong counter-rally was held in Kota Bahru Friday.

The rally in Taman Melewar last night doubled as the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Batu PAS division and was attended by Nik Aziz as guest of honour.

Though the rally was held late at 11pm, the frail looking Nik Aziz was mostly smiling and upbeat and delivered a spirited speech to condemn Umno.

Umno is 'drowning'

Employing is trademark simple analogies for complicated problems, interlaced with religious teachings, he described Umno as a "drowning" party trying desperately to wrest Kelantan from PAS.

According to Nik Aziz, who has been Kelantan menteri besar for 19 years, Umno is still using the same old tactics to destabilise the state government.

"They see me as someone who has a turban and robe and is thus incapable of running a state. They accuse us of all sorts of things because they know they are drowning.

"MCA is in shambles. They are Barisan Nasional's right crutch. MIC is the left crutch. They are in disarray. Since they don't know what to do, they attack me," he said.

The latest round of Umno's attacks against Nik Aziz followed his threat to hold special prayers for the demise of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Umno over the federal government's refusal to grant oil royalties to the state.

In a related development, the PAS Indian supporters club for the Batu area was launched today.

The club's president N Balasubramaniam said the club was to support the leadership of Nik Aziz.

"To date, we have 22,096 members throughout the country and we expect to have 15,000 more by January," he added.