The prime minister of Malaysia appointed Thaksin, a powerful Thai politician, as an adviser on ASEAN issues

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former premier and billionaire political heavyweight of Thailand, was named by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday as his personal adviser for the position of chair of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc next year.

In addition to advisors from a number of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ ten member states, Anwar stated that Thaksin will serve in an informal capacity during his tenure as its leader.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of Thaksin and the fourth member of their family to hold Thailand’s highest political position, made the announcement while visiting Malaysia, according to Anwar.

“Thank you for agreeing to this because we need the benefit of the experience of such a statesman,” Anwar shared with Paetongtarn at a joint press conference with Thaksin.

The 75-year-old Thaksin has dominated Thai politics for the previous 20 years, and while the country has had several administrations during the last 25 years, it is generally anticipated that his influence will define the current administration.

Following his conviction for power abuse and conflicts of interest, which he avoided for 15 years while living in self-imposed exile and continuing to play a major role in sporadic unrest back home, Thaksin is now disqualified from government.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison, but the Thai king shortened it to one year a few days later after he made a stunning comeback to Thailand in August 2023. Thaksin was only detained for a few hours before being sent to the hospital for medical reasons. He stayed there for six months before being released on parole in February.

Although his adversaries in the royalist establishment and military are dubious and think he is making decisions in his daughter’s cabinet, the controversial tycoon has maintained that he has retired from politics.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party, which he formed, has been actively led by Thaksin, who also regularly makes public comments about government policy. President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia and prominent former PM Hun Sen of Cambodia, whose son is currently prime minister, have met with him.

Thai media reports that Thaksin has sought a mediation role in the unresolvable situation in army-ruled Myanmar, which is the largest obstacle to Anwar’s ASEAN chairmanship.

As acknowledged by Thailand’s foreign minister in May, Thaksin personally met with Myanmar’s junta’s opponents in an attempt to mediate a settlement.