Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has clarified that the appointment of individuals as informal advisers to the ASEAN chair is based on their expertise and extensive experience in geopolitics and regional affairs, particularly on issues concerning Myanmar.
Anwar said background checks are not required for these appointments, as the appointees are individuals who have previously held the highest positions in their respective countries, especially in international relations.
“These individuals have long-standing experience in managing regional and international issues. They also offered their services and expertise on the basis of friendship among ASEAN member states,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.
Anwar was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), who asked whether the government conducted background checks before appointing anyone as an informal adviser to the ASEAN chair, and what the actual role and necessity of such advisers were.
Last December, Anwar appointed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a member of the informal advisory group for Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship. Malaysia handed over the ASEAN chair to the Philippines last month.
Thaksin served as Thai prime minister from 2001 to 2006. After returning from self-exile in August 2023 to avoid imprisonment following his 2006 overthrow, he spent six months in hospital detention for health reasons before being released on parole in February last year.
Prior to his appointment as ASEAN informal adviser, Thaksin reportedly met with representatives of several groups opposing Myanmar’s military junta to help mediate the ongoing conflict since the 2021 coup. According to a Myanmar news report on May 6, 2024, Thaksin met with representatives from the National Unity Government (NUG), which coordinates the national struggle against the junta.
In April last year, Anwar met Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok under an ASEAN mandate. He said the meeting, the first by an ASEAN chair since the 2021 coup, aimed to secure a ceasefire and facilitate post-earthquake humanitarian aid following the devastating March 28 earthquake in Myanmar.
Anwar added that the matter was discussed with all ASEAN leaders, and no objections were raised.
