Mahathir Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

5 Feb 2007 (TODAY / AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR - Bosnian groups have nominated Malaysia's former Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad (picture) for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for
helping the country after its bloody civil war, The Star newspaper
reported yesterday.

It said he was nominated by four civil groups in Bosnia, spearheaded by
Bosnia's former President Ejup Ganic. Dr Mahathir was described in the
groups' nomination paper as the developing world's "most courageous
advocate", according to the Malaysian newspaper.

Under Dr Mahathir, Malaysia provided economic, political and humanitarian
aid for Bosnia, while it reeled from the trauma of conflict and ethnic
cleansing in the 1992 to 1995 civil war.

The deadline for nominations to the Nobel Institute in Oslo closed on Feb
1. The winner will be announced in October and the prize will be presented
on Dec 10.

Thousands of people are eligible to make nominations. They include members
of parliament and government, university professors and previous laureates
as well as several international institutes. Last year, Mr Muhammad Yunus
and his Grameen Bank were selected from a list of 191 nominees.

Mr Ganic said Dr Mahathir had influenced the world with his lessons on
managing diversity, solving conflicts and harnessing a multi-ethnic
population to build a vibrant economy.

Dr Mahathir, 81, who stepped down as Prime Minister in 2003, has seized on
the issue of conflict in the Middle East during his retirement. Last week,
he launched an unofficial war crimes tribunal to focus on victims of abuse
in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. - AFP