Paroled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has categorically refuted any suggestion that the appointment of Phichit Chuenban, his family’s lawyer, as PM’s Office Minister, was a setup to undermine Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
He claims to be just an old man who has no political position or power whatsoever, adding that his role is to give advice to those younger than him and to help the country as best he can.
He maintains that he wants Srettha to remain in office as long as possible, as some problems take a long time resolve.
The former prime minister said that the move by 40 senators to seek a Constitutional Court order to remove the prime minister, over his appointment of Phichit, may cause some problems, but will not result in the prime minister being removed.
He also denied a suggestion that he might retaliate against the 40 senators.
Regarding his recent talks with representatives of Myanmar’s anti-junta ethnic minority groups in Chiang Mai and his secret meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Phuket to discuss southern unrest, Thaksin said that these engagements were done in good faith to help, without ulterior motive or vested interest.
Myanmar, he said, is Thailand’s neighbour and an ASEAN member country, and the war in Myanmar will weaken ASEAN and cause suffering to people in Myanmar, forcing many to seek shelter on Thai soil.
Accompanied by his daughter Paetongtarn, also leader of Pheu Thai party, and his son, Panthongtae, Thaksin visited Nakhon Ratchasima today, to pay respects to his late driver, Wichai Changlek.
Upon his arrival at the airport, he was greeted by well-wishers, including Red Shirt followers in the province.
Thaksin said that he has not seen the city yet, but thinks it must have changed a lot, but he said the countryside remains unchanged, as most people are poor due to the sluggish economy.
Regarding the lèse majesté case against him, in which public prosecutors are expected to announce their next move on Wednesday, Thaksin said that, if necessary, he will go to the Attorney-General’s Office himself to hear the prosecutor’s decision.
He was indicted for lèse majesté by the former attorney-general back in 2016, while he was in self-imposed exile. On January 19th, police informed him of the lèse majesté charges, which he denied and then petitioned for justice with the Attorney-General’s Office.
