Thaksin, Anwar's Asean adviser, to serve one year in jail

Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra has been ordered to serve one year in jail, just nine months after the billionaire was  named by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as an adviser in the latter's role as the chairman of Asean.

This comes as Thailand's Supreme Court ruled today that Thaksin's detention in a VIP wing of a police hospital was unlawful.

After his return from exile, 76-year-old Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and abuse of power in 2023, only to be commuted to one year through a royal decree.

However, Thaksin did not spend a single day in prison after complaining of health problems.

In May last year, the Bangkok Post reported that he had violated the terms of his parole by going on holiday to Phuket, where he briefly met with Anwar.

About seven months after that meeting, Anwar appointed Thaksin as his adviser on Asean affairs ahead of Malaysia's chairmanship of the regional bloc, a move which sparked widespread criticism.

While many saw humour in the fact that both politicians were once convicted and imprisoned - Thaksin for corruption and Anwar for sodomy - diplomats said the appointment showed that Malaysia was starting its chairmanship of Asean on the wrong foot.

One former Malaysian ambassador, Dennis Ignatius, called the appointment as "weird" and "completely unnecessary".

"Normally, Asean countries use their tenure as chairman to showcase their leadership and make their own unique contribution to strengthening Asean," the veteran diplomat who served as Malaysian ambassador to Chile, Argentina and Canada, had told MalaysiaNow.

Despite the criticism, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan defended Anwar's choice, saying the Thai politician was an influential figure and acceptable to the US despite his close ties with China.

"This positions him as a bridge for Asean," Mohamad reportedly said.