Sharon Seah of the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute said Thaksin’s informal appointment was Anwar’s prerogative, but noted that the prime minister’s announcement on Dec 16 appeared to take some officials by surprise.
Seah said Thaksin “has been out of the Asean scene” for 15 years, having been ousted as Thailand’s prime minister following a 2006 military coup. He immediately went into exile, before resurfacing last year.
In that period, the issues and geopolitical landscape in Asean have become much more complicated, she said.
“I expect that he might need time to reacquaint himself with Asean matters. Thaksin’s strength is as a strategist, so having him on board to help Malaysia strategise and recalibrate issues during its chairmanship year could be helpful,” she told FMT.
When making the announcement, Anwar also said he intended to assemble an informal team of advisers from various Asean nations. It has been speculated that George Yeo and Retno Marsudi – former foreign ministers of Singapore and Indonesia, respectively – would be part of the team.
Earlier this month, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari questioned the rationale and “morality” of Thaksin’s appointment, citing the former Thai premier’s past corruption conviction.
However, Seah said the appointment was not necessarily a bad decision, though it may present tricky dynamics which Anwar would have to juggle.
“For instance, in the case of the Myanmar crisis, potentially, Myanmar’s internal voices may not take well to certain figures stepping in.
“You might recall that Thaksin offered a mediating role in Myanmar back in May 2024 but the EAOs (ethnic armed organisations) rejected this,” she said.
At the end of the day, irrespective of the appointments, it would fall on Anwar and Malaysia, as the grouping’s chair, to make all final decisions, said Seah.
Malaysia will officially assume the Asean chairmanship on Jan 1, 2025. The country previously held the rotating chairmanship in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.
Thaksin was Thailand’s prime minister between 2001 and 2006, before being ousted. He went on to live in self-imposed exile for 15 years before returning to Thailand in August 2023.
Upon his return, he was jailed for eight years on charges of graft and abuse of power. However, within days, his sentence was slashed to one year by Thai king Maha Vajiralongkorn.
On Feb 18, the 74-year-old billionaire was released on parole after serving six months in detention.
His youngest daughter Paetongtarn is the current Thai prime minister.