Malaysian PM describes meeting with Thaksin as ‘productive’

The discussions were held on Sunday and covered a variety of issues including the Myanmar quagmire and cryptocurrency

Discussions between Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Informal Advisory Group chaired by former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra took place on Sunday.

In a Facebook post in both English and Malay, the Malaysian PM described the meeting with Thaksin as productive, noting that they had discussed several key issues,  including the situation in Myanmar and the state of play of developments in cryptocurrency.

“Later, at dinner, we continued the conversation joined by Singapore’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Yeo,” he added.The meeting between Anwar and Thaksin came after the Criminal Court on Friday allowed the former Thai PM to travel abroad for a meeting in Malaysia on February 2-3, on payment of a 5-million-baht bond.



In its statement, the court said Thaksin’s request was supported by the foreign minister who gave an assurance that the request would not affect the investigation into the ex-PM’s lese majesté case, which prevents him from travelling abroad without approval.

The minister also made the case that Thaksin’s travel would benefit Thailand and build a good relationship between the two countries.

In addition to the 5-million-baht bond, the Criminal Court has ordered Thaksin to report to the court and immigration officers within three days after returning from Malaysia.

Thaksin faces criminal charges for violating the lese majesté law arising from an interview with South Korean media in 2015.

The Criminal Court confiscated his passport and mandated that he request permission for any travel abroad as a condition of his bail, which was set at 500,000 baht in June last year.

Malaysia is chairing ASEAN this year, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed Thaksin as an informal adviser in December.

(2025/02/03-00:00)