The time has come for yet another round of Nobel Peace Prize nominations but this year bears a special significance for all Malaysians.

Local interest towards this esoteric award has peaked with reports that former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim may join the distinguished company of past winners such as South Africas Nelson Mandela and Burmas Aung San Suu Kyi before the year is out.

The Nobel Peace Prize, named after Alfred Nobel, Swedish industrialist and inventor of the dynamite, has been awarded annually since 1901 to individuals found to have worked for peace and fellowship among nations.

The Malaysian commotion started when Reuters , in a late January despatch, stated that Anwar had been tipped for nomination for this years prize.

Besieged by reporters, Keadilan president and Anwars wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said she was elated on reading the Reuters report.

It is an honour and this is the first time a Malaysian is linked to this prestigious prize. It is a recognition of (Anwars) sacrifices, the things he has done and the sufferings he has gone through, said Azizah.

Nomination denied

Anwar, who is currently serving a 15-year jail term for corruption and sodomy, has continually claimed he is a victim of a high-level conspiracy to bring about his political downfall. The government has denied this.

Keadilan leaders, eager for a boost after the partys defeat by Barisan Nasional at the Indera Kayangan by-election last month, have leapt at this opportunity and launched a campaign to garner support for Anwars nomination.

On Feb 6, the partys deputy youth chief Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced at a press statement that Anwar has indeed been proposed as a candidate.

Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the Malaysian reformasi movement, countryman and exponent of an Asian revival based on humanitarian values, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002, said his press statement.

Keadilan claims Anwars nomination was made by Stein Tonnesson, director of the prestigious International Peace Research Institute based in Oslo.

But when contacted by malaysiakini for confirmation, Tonnesson denied making any nomination.

University professors

I have not nominated Anwar Ibrahim for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said.

According to Tonnesson, an international news agency had asked him who he thought might be possible Nobel Peace Prize candidates for 2002 and he speculated based on last years events that the Nobel Committee might be looking for a Muslim who is also a convinced democrat.

I mentioned Anwar Ibrahim as a person combining those two qualities, but I added that he had not perhaps done so much for peace, and therefore was after all unlikely to succeed if someone were to nominate him, he said.

Tonnesson added that he spoke in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the Oslo institute which is unrelated to the Nobel Foundation.

Although a nomination for Anwar has not come from this quarter, it does not preclude the possibility that the earlier rumours might have prompted others to nominate the 54-year-old ex-deputy prime minister.

Nominators for the Nobel Peace Prize come from a diverse group of politicians and academicians. Among those eligible to nominate are members of national assemblies and governments, Nobel laureates as well as university professors of law, political science, history and philosophy.

And unless the person making the nomination makes known his or her choice, the public will not be informed of the identity of all the nominees.

Five-member committee

For this year alone, Geir Lundestad, the Director of the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, said that 121 nominations were received before the Feb 1 deadline.

Those in the running for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize award, which will be announced on Dec 10, include US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The two leaders were nominated by a Harald Nesvik, a right-wing Norwegian politician, for their decisive action against terrorism.

Last year, the prize was won by the United Nations and its secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Nobel Peace Prize laureates are selected at the discretion of a five-member Norwegian committee appointed by the countrys parliament. The award comes with a prize money of just under US$1 million.

With Tonnesson denying he nominated Anwar, have Malaysians been taken for a ride? Not necessarily as Anwar may still have been nominated by other individuals either local or foreign. But unless this person reveals his or her decision, Malaysians will never find out.

Unless, of course, Anwar wins the prize.