Almost 4,000 people flocked to Pakatan Harapan's rally tonight to see the coalition's big guns speak.

The key stars were coalition chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Amanah's Nik Omar, who is the eldest son of the late PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

As soon as the duo arrived, the crowd started to swell.

The rally was aired live on Mahathir's official Facebook page and it received more than 62,000 views at its peak.

While the crowd in the heart of the federal administrative capital was impressive, it was not the first of its kind.

In the last general election, PAS, which at the time was with Harapan's predecessor Pakatan Rakyat, drew more than 10,000 people there, but many were from outside Putrajaya who flocked to see the late Nik Aziz speak.

At the rally tonight, there were civil servants present, but many were also from nearby Klang Valley.

“I’ve been voting since my twenties. I’m here to see Dr Mahathir.

“Times are really bad now, compared with the times when I was still in the service," said a 63-year-old former civil servant who only wanted to be known as Tay. He had travelled from Puchong.

A middle-aged woman, who did not want to be named said she had travelled from Perak with her second son, who is a police officer, to attend the rally.

"My eldest son worked at Perbadanan Putrajaya, so we arrived here to stay at his house in Putrajaya," she said.

Many civil servants who live in Putrajaya itself did not dare to turn up at the rally for fear that they may face disciplinary action from the government.

However, 59-year-old Yusof, an immigration officer, was an exception.

"I just don't care anymore, I am going to retire next year," he said.

Comparing the premiership of Mahathir and Najib Abdul Razak, he said civil servants back in the 1980s and 1990s were not burdened by the cost of living and goods and services tax (GST).

"Also, the petrol price is not expensive, Mahathir had it under control," he added.

Education Ministry officer Mohd, 39, said he used to vote for PAS, but decided to swing to Harapan this time.

"I come for both Mahathir and Nik Omar. I have only seen videos of Nik Omar on social media, but I want to listen to him myself.

"I voted twice for PAS, but PAS has become a party that unable to blend in the community and not able to agree to disagree," said the Bangi voter.

When Nik Omar took the stage, shouts of "Allahu Akbar" were heard.

Nik Omar, in his speech, spoke how his late father had wanted to see the late former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh, even though he was ill.

"He was weak and had a fever, but still he wanted to see Karpal Singh," he said.

Nik Omar said this was a reflection of his father's belief that Muslims and non-Muslims should be treated well in a multi-racial country.

Mahathir, in his speech, spoke about the country's mounting debt.

"If we get Najib, we're going to squeeze him for all the money... RM2.6 billion in his account. When asked where he got it, he said it was an Arab donation.

"Which Arab is crazy enough to that? Even Bill Gates has not given that much," Mahathir said.

DAP's Segambut candidate Hannah Yeoh also made an emotional appeal for civil servants to back Harapan, telling the story of her teacher who had campaigned for her 10 years ago.

"Because my teacher chose change 10 years ago... because of his courage (to campaign for me) he contributed to putting the first woman speaker in the Selangor state assembly.

"So I urge civil servants to support Harapan. They (the government) cannot take action against you as on May 9, we will have a new government that will act fairly," Yeoh said.