KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has appointed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a member of the informal advisory group to Malaysia's Asean chairmanship in 2025.
He said Malaysia requires statesmen like Thaksin to share expertise and ideas with the Asean Chair on regional issues.
"I have also agreed to appoint him (Thaksin) as my adviser to assist Malaysia as Asean chair, alongside a team from Asean countries in an informal setup. Thank you for agreeing to this, because we need the benefit of experience of such statesmen," he said.
Anwar said this at a press conference following a bilateral meeting today with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is also Thaksin's youngest daughter.
Paetongtarn is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, marking her maiden visit to Malaysia after taking the office in August, this year.
Thaksin served as the Thai prime minister from 2001 to 2006. After a dramatic return last August from self-exile to avoid jail time in the wake of his overthrow in a 2006 military coup, Thaksin served six months in hospital detention, due to health reasons, before being released on parole in February.
After his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his time in office. His sentence was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn last September.