Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has put aside his bitter row with former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad to wish him well in his nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

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, Abdullah 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.

Today he aunched 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.

Peace advocate

Meanwhile, former UN special envoy Razali Ismail said Mahathir well deserved the nomination for the prestigious peace award.

"Dr Mahathir deserved to be nominated for his untiring work in championing the causes of the people in developing countries.

"He is clearly qualified for the Nobel peace prize. He has not only become a leader in this country but also a leader of developing countries.

"He champions the true causes of the people. Malaysia's policies have helped a lot of Bosnians, Palestinians and the blacks in South Africa," said the former Malaysian Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ex-UN Special Envoy to Burma.

Razali described Dr Mahathir as a "strong advocate of peace for his courageous stand against war on humanity."

"He is courageous to take a firm stand against war on humanity. Not many government leaders in the world will act like he does," he added.

This year's nominees for the award include former US Vice-President Al Gore, Finnish peace broker Martti Ahtisaari and Chinese dissident Rebiya Kadeer.