Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today stressed that the Iraqi people should decide how captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein be brought to justice.

Abdullah said Saddam must receive a fair trial in accordance with international law in a statement released here, adding that the restoration of peace and stability in the troubled country should be a priority.

"This must be the priority so that the development of Iraq could be carried out effectively," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Abdullah said Iraq's people had the right to enjoy not only economic and social development but their dignity and self-respect must be returned to them, including political power and influence over the judiciary.

Malaysia currently chairs the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

In a US raid Saturday, 66-year-old Saddam was found in a hole under a farmhouse near the northern town of Tikrit. - AFP