A mediator may be asked to settle the dispute between Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Revealing this today, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, who met the former and present prime ministers recently, believed that the differences between the duo could still be resolved amicably.

He said Abdullah, whom he met before he left for Perth, Australia, for a holiday, was open to resolve the differences and Zainuddin hoped Mahathir would adopt the same attitude.

"I suggested several names to Abdullah and he agreed to one of the names proposed. I contacted the person who said he has no qualms to contribute towards creating a harmonious environment in the interests of the country and race," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

"This person as far as I know is dear to Mahathir and respected by Abdullah. He can help restore ties between them," added Zainuddin, without naming the person.

Political observers have suggested the names of many veteran leaders and associates of the two prime ministers as the possible candidate.

Could it be Mohd Abid?

One interesting name which surfaced was 62-year-old prominent businessman Mohd Abid, the executive director of major property development group TA Enterprise Bhd.

According to an observer, who declined to be named, Mohd Abid is believed to be related to both Abdullah and Mahathir.

He is well-known among the elite circles and a close friend of the two feuding leaders, he said.

Meanwhile, Zainuddin said the initiatives to resolve the differences between Mahathir and Abdullah were in line with the spirit and wishes of the Umno grassroots throughout the country who were worried over the current development.

For example, he said, the Taman Bunga Raya Umno branch in the Merbok division - where Zainuddin is the parliamentary representative - had passed a resolution that the party supreme council should resolve the differences between Mahathir and Abdullah amicably and quickly, and not taken advantage by any group to worsen the situation.

Zainuddin said Abdullah did not order to declare war on Mahathir but asked his ministers to reply to questions raised by Mahathir based on facts.

The information minister said the people would remain confused if this issue was not resolved soon.

Scathing attacks

Mahathir had launched a series of attacks against his successor over certain decisions made by the current administration, namely the scrapping of the half-bridge project, the management of Proton and the sale of Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Augusta to a euro 2 company.

While claiming that it was nothing personal, Mahathir had one occasion wondered aloud if he had made the wrong choice in naming Abdullah as his successor.

The former premier had also come under intense criticism from present and past leaders over his scathing remarks. Leading the charge was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, who had even challenged Mahathir to be 'a jantan (real man) and resign from Umno'.

Mahathir had always maintained that Abdullah was surrounded by bad advisers, which observers believe was directed at the premier's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin.

Yesterday, Mahathir's former political secretary Matthias Chang had called on Abdullah to respond to the rumours that Khairy was the country's de facto prime minister .