KULALA LUMPUR: There are a myriad of narrow corridors along the way to Thaksin Shinawatra’s lavish property on the fringes of Bangkok.
His sprawling Chan Song Lor palace in Soi Charan Sanitwong 69 is a 30-minute travel from the town, even during high traffic hours like noon.
No one should expect sensibility from Thailand’s most contented leader, even though I had anticipated his family residence to be in a lush neighborhood with large roads.
After 17 years of self-imposed captivity, the political bodybuilder is ultimately home, actually.
Thaksin was given an eight-year jail term in absentia for problem arising from his 2001-2006 tenure as prime minister.
However, he soon received a aristocratic pardon in Thailand in 2023, which reduced the prison term to just one year.
He was transferred from Bangkok Remand Prison to the Police General Hospital for health care less than 24 days after returning to Indian land.
Although Thaksin is no longer a member of any social or government organizations, the press still refers to him as the Pheu Thai Party’s de facto leader.
With his daughter, Paetongtarn, as the country’s youngest PM at 38 years older, Thaksin is commonly expected to form the present state.
Yet his critics in secret acknowledged that he is still a force to reckon with, his hands also pulling. They admit that his control extends outside Thailand, mainly to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Thaksin’s devoted supporters continue to insist that the social power enjoy that caused his exile has resulted in his death.
” Do you know that I don’t do yoga? Each day I close my eyes, my brain goes off there. I am constantly thinking of anything.
” I am currently up at 5.30am. I do some training, have my meal, and by 9.30am, I am working,” he quipped during our discussion conducted at a keeping area, which is lined with family pictures.
Thaksin is aware that Asean nations are concerned about the gangs operating the “dirty income” con centers along the Thai-Myanmar border and in some places in Cambodia and Laos.
He said,” It is this dirty money that is financing the fighting between the Myanmar junta and the numerous factions,” explaining the complexity of the civil war but claiming that the fighting must end.
In Shwe Kokko, a city in Myanmar where thousands of people have been trafficked and forced to engage in online fraud aimed at victims around the world, Paetongtarn ordered the strength and telecommunication services to be cut at the beginning of the fortnight.
She had made the decision before making her trip to China, where she had met with Xi Jinping, the country’s leader.
Thaksin claimed that it had to be done “because Thailand wants the local people to force these scam gangs to leave the area” even though the locals who were staying in such areas may be affected by such problems.
After power lines were cut off, Taiwanese businesses reportedly abandoned Payathonzu, a border town in Myanmar close to Kanchanaburi state in Thailand on February 13.
According to reports, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army ( DKBA ), which controls the area, had ordered illegal businesses to leave by February 28.
The separation of energy companies from Thailand affected over 50, 000 people in Payathonzu, the newspaper said.
Thaksin agreed that Myanmar is the” rhinoceros in the room” for Asean, of which Malaysia now holds the chair.
He has already gotten to work helping and advising Prime Minister Datuk Sari Anwar Ibrahim, whom he described as a” fine gentleman with a strong mind who sees things from a large and comprehensive view.”
Thaksin said he has begun meeting with the several top opposition party leaders in an effort to end the ongoing armed turmoil in Myanmar, which has raged for more than three years, and that Malaysia will do a great job as the president of the regional bloc.
In Chiangmai in March and April, according to reports from the Thai advertising, Thaksin had a meeting with Shan State Army and Shan State Reconstruction Council leaders.
” They came with a long list of requirements, but I told them to gain with a shorter record, which must be rational.
Before discussing holding a public election, which might not be recognized, the Myanmar junta also needs to acquire a more inclusive strategy to attract these groups. It will be a spare therefore”, he warned.
Thaksin also suggested that Asean was” accept a little bit” if the military junta agreed to join with the various ethnic groups.
He and Anwar both agreed that conversations were necessary to end the issue.
Thaksin added that Asean countries must not miss the chance as US President Donald Trump was expected to drive for wider use and that he hoped to make a plan and recommendations to begin working toward adopting a crypto.
Trump has publicly endorsed Bitcoin and other digital assets, so Asean needs to consider how to move forward but we don’t fall behind, he said.
Trump advocated the creation of a federal crypto stockpile and suggested the formation of a working class to get set up to discuss new digital property regulations.
Regarding the political conflict between the US and China, Thaksin said Asean is aware of the difficulties but that he has always stressed that Asean has often maintained the need to be natural.
” The US has been our alliance for a long time, but China is our ally. When asked if Trump did show more attention in Asean this day, he responded,” It would be nice if the US would engage more with Asean.”
Thaksin said Asean was a region with over 600 million people and a total gross domestic product ( GDP ) of over US$ 3 trillion, and certainly, it deserves attention. – Bernama
* The poet, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, who has been a columnist for more than 40 years, is now the president of Bernama, the Malaysian National News Agency