(July 10): Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta in his first high-profile overseas appearance since his release from jail, confirming his continuing role as an adviser to sovereign wealth fund Danantara.
Thaksin was accompanied by his sister and daughter, who are also both former prime ministers, at the meeting at Danantara’s headquarters. The gathering reflects Prabowo’s efforts to strengthen friendship networks and ramp up international cooperation with world leaders and major figures, according to a statement from the Indonesian leader’s office late on Thursday.
The meeting reflects “the close friendship that has existed for a long time”, Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in the written statement.
Thaksin’s public appearance alongside Prabowo underscores his continuing influence in Southeast Asia after years of exile, imprisonment and legal battles in Thailand. While he holds no formal office in his home country, the billionaire politician remains one of its most influential power brokers and a central figure behind the once-dominant Pheu Thai Party.
The former Thai prime minister also met Prabowo at the latter’s private residence on Wednesday, hours after the departure of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a separate Indonesian government statement.
Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who remains in exile after fleeing Thailand following a coup, and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, ousted from office as the prime minister in August, also attended the Danantara meeting.
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In his capacity as a member of the Danantara Advisory Board, Thaksin provides input and exchanges ideas with Prabowo and Danantara’s leadership, including chief executive Rosan Roeslani about investment opportunities, asset management strategies, and national economic development for long-term growth, Wijaya said.
The statement demonstrates that Thaksin, 76, has maintained his role at the sovereign wealth fund, clarifying his status after his imprisonment from September to May raised questions about his capacity. The advisory role further boosts his international standing, giving him a formal position in one of the region’s most ambitious state investment vehicles.
Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison — later commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn — for corruption and abuse of power convictions when he returned to Thailand in 2023. He had spent 15 years in self-imposed exile following his ouster in a 2006 military takeover.
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He was released from behind bars on parole in May before receiving royal clemency weeks later that officially ended the remainder of his prison sentence. Thaksin hasn’t commented on his future plans since his release.
Still, Thaksin is expected to maintain a low profile and remain cautious because he still faces legal uncertainty. Prosecutors have appealed his acquittal in a royal defamation case stemming from a 2015 interview with South Korean media.
The Shinawatras’ party, Pheu Thai, also faces pressure to reinvent itself after decades of relying on the family brand. The party is in Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s ruling coalition, but its third-place finish in February’s vote was a disappointment for a family whose various parties finished first in every vote from 2001 to 2019.
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