No need to make urgent decision on Thaksin, Anwar says

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there is no need to make immediate decisions in regard to former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra’s role as his informal adviser on Asean affairs.

Anwar added that he would discuss the matter with newly minted Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

“There is no need to take any immediate decisions...Thaksin’s role is certainly limited now because he is not free to give his views and cooperation,” Bernama reported him as saying today.

Anwar said this to reporters when met during the International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (Icosh) organised by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The premier appointed Thaksin as his informal personal adviser on Asean affairs in December last year.

"I have agreed to appoint (Thaksin) as my personal adviser as chairperson of Asean, with a team of members from Asean countries,” he was reported as saying.

It should be noted that apart from Thaksin, Anwar had also appointed former Cambodian strongman, Hun Sen, as an adviser.

On Aug 29, Thailand's Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, as prime minister.

The court ruled that she had violated ethics rules over a leaked phone call with Hun Sen.

Asean still stable

Anwar assured that the recent political transitions in Thailand and Indonesia will not disrupt regional stability or investor confidence, describing Asean as relatively the most peaceful region.

“As far as we know, things are quite settled in Thailand with their new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and we wish them well. Stability is most important.

“In the same manner, I was on a call with Indonesian President Prabowo (Subianto) for some time yesterday, and he mentioned that things are almost back to normal.

“I think it is quite stable, and we have not seen any negative reactions from investors,” the Tambun MP added.

Anwar also noted that Malaysia, as Asean Chair, hopes that investors will continue to place their confidence in the region.

Protests in Indonesia

Massive protests began in Indonesia after its leaders mulled a proposal to increase the monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (RM12,000) for parliamentarians.

Public uproar escalated after a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was run over and killed by an armoured police vehicle as security authorities tried to contain student protests.

In a move to quell public dissatisfaction, Prabowo sacked five ministers, including the highly-regarded Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

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