Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to meet his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to end a damaging public row that has sent shockwaves through the ruling party.

Mahathir said he hoped the meeting could be held before the Hari Raya festival, which falls early next week, marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"At the meeting, I will raise again the issues that I've been keeping in my heart since I left the government," he told the New Straits Times .

"I don't know when. Hopefully it is before Hari Raya," he said. "However, it is up to the PM's convenience as I understand that he is a busy man."

Newspaper reports said there had been growing pressure for peace talks from within the ruling Umno, after influential figures warned it could lose power over the row between its top members.

Infuriated by the axing of pet projects conceived during his two decades in power, Mahathir has accused Abdullah of incompetence, nepotism and corruption, and publicly lamented handing him the top job in 2003.

Peace overtures a surprise

The peace overtures came as a surprise following months of rhetoric from the 81-year-old firebrand, who has complained he is now a pariah in the party he once ruled with an iron fist.

UMNO leaders welcomed the move, saying it would be good for political stability in Malaysia.

"It is better for the two leaders to sit down and talk rather than for Tun Mahathir to go around the country criticising the government," Umno information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib told The Star daily.

"In that way, they can sort out these issues in private rather than in the media," he added.

Asked whether the premier would agree to the meeting, Muhammad said he was "always prepared to meet people for the good of the country".

Abdullah has largely declined to respond to Mahathir's criticisms, but has refused to back down on any of his decisions which riled the former premier, including the scrapping of a new bridge to Singapore.

It unclear whether Abdullah has been informed that Mahathir was seeking to meet with him.

Mahathir has stated that he wished to see Abdullah before Hari Raya which is five days away. This does not give much time for the prime minister to decide whether the meeting should go ahead.