A baffling appointment

Strange move: Anwar and Thaksin (right) might be friends but that is no reason to officially announce the former Thai PM as an advisor, surely? — Bernama/AFP

THE text messages came in fast and furious on Monday. Disbelief and shock were the order of the day. The Star had just reported that former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had been appointed as advisor to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Asean chair, and those who follow Asean news and issues were questioning this columnist about the hows and whys of this rather strange move.

I have been writing on Asean issues and have covered umpteenth Asean summits and meetings over the years, and I have never come across such an appointment. I was as baffled as everyone else. It is unprecedented, really.