04/02/2007
Bush, Blair Bigger Murderers than Saddam, al-Qaeda - Mahathir
Malaysian PM wishes Mahathir Well

Malaysia's prime minister has put aside his bitter row with former leader Mahathir Mohamad to wish him well in his nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, according to reports.

Bosnian civil society groups have nominated Mahathir for helping the country after its bloody civil war, describing him as the developing world's "most courageous advocate."

Despite an angry war of words that has raged between the pair for the past year, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reportedly said he would be proud to see Mahathir win the Nobel.

"I will be happy together with all Malaysians," he said according to The Star daily.

Under Mahathir, Malaysia provided economic, political and humanitarian aid for Bosnia while it reeled from the trauma of conflict and ethnic cleansing in the 1992-95 civil war.

When asked to comment on his nomination on Sunday, Mahathir simply laughed and brushed the question aside.

"I don't know about these things. I don't know if I will be asked to accept it or not ... can we have some other more interesting questions?" he told reporters. The winner will be announced in October.

Mahathir, 81, who stepped down in 2003, has seized on the issue of conflict in the Middle East during his retirement.

On Monday he launched a conference on exposing war crimes, and last week he unveiled plans for an unofficial war crimes tribunal to focus on victims of abuse in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.