Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he will contest in the coming general election.

Nik Abdul Aziz, 80, said there was no reason for him to step down as suggested by several delegates at the Umno general assembly recently.

"God willing, I will contest against Umno and I am not concerned if people mentioned my name at the assembly," he told reporters in Kota Bharu.

He became Kelantan menteri besar after the general election in 1990. At the 2008 general election, he defended the Chempaka state seat against Barisan Nasional's Nik Mohd Zain Omar with a 4,249-vote majority.

Meanwhile, Nik Abdul Aziz refused to comment on a statement by a PAS speaker at a ceramah, who equalled him to a prophet, because he claimed he was unaware of the issue.

However, he said, if there were parties who accused the speaker of being an atheist for equalling him to a prophet, Muslims who rejected Islam were also atheists.

"This is what I have to say if the person who equalled me to a prophet is an atheist, Muslims who reject Islam are also atheists.

"Replacing Islam with democracy is also atheism," he said.

- Bernama