Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should face reality and not be jealous of the possibility of his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim being nominated as a recipient for this years Nobel Peace Prize.

Keadilan Youth chief Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who said this today, added Mahathir should be reminded that former recipients of the prestigious prize were not destabilisers of their countries but people who fought for justice and suffered for it.

Mahathir has to face the reality that his efforts to end Anwars political future in the eyes of the world have not been accepted by the people.

He (Mahathir) should also stop feeling jealous over the matter,  he told malaysiakini

Yesterday, Mahathir scoffed at the prospect of Anwar being nominated as reported recently by international news agency Reuters .

Asked to comment, the premier said the Nobel Peace Prize had now become a political prize.

It is no more a peace prize. There is no peace. In fact, the idea is to ensure that there is a struggle and destabilise the country and people would have fun reporting, he said.

Anwar surprised

Meanwhile, Anwar through his counsel Sankara Nair today said: I am most surprised because I had not been alerted of it in advance and had no knowledge of myself being tipped for nomination.

According to the Reuters report, former New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani is also in the running for the award, given out by the Nobel Institute based in Stockholm.

Last year, the prize went to United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan. Former recipients include American human rights activist Dr Martin Luther King, Indias Mother Teresa, former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, South Africas Nelson Mandela and Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat.

The successful nominee for the award this year will be announced in October. The Nobel Peace Prize come with a prize money of 10 million Swedish krona (RM3.5 million).