Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has appointed Thailand’s billionaire political heavyweight and former leader Thaksin Shinawatra as his personal adviser for when he becomes chair of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc next year.
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Anwar said Thaksin’s role during his leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be in an informal capacity, alongside advisers from several of the bloc’s 10 member states.
Anwar made the announcement during a visit to Malaysia on Monday by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s youngest daughter and fourth member of their family to hold Thailand’s top political post.
“Thank you for agreeing to this because we need the benefit of the experience of such a statesman,” Anwar said of Thaksin during a joint press conference with Paetongtarn.
Thaksin, 75, has been a towering figure over Thai politics in the past two decades and his influence is widely expected to shape the current government, as it has multiple administrations in the past quarter-century.
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