George Yeo joins Malaysia PM Anwar in meeting with informal ASEAN adviser Thaksin

KUALA LUMPUR: Is former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo part of Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's group of informal ASEAN advisers, alongside ex-Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra?

This is the question arising from a Facebook post by Anwar about a meeting he held on Sunday (Feb 2).

In the post, Anwar said his meeting with Thaksin, who leads an informal advisory group to Malaysia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, was “productive”.

The pair discussed “several key matters including the situation in Myanmar and the state of play of developments in cryptocurrency, among others”, Anwar wrote.

Anwar said he “continued the conversation” with Thaksin at dinner, joined by Yeo. Also pictured at the dinner was Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia chairman Mohd Faiz Abdullah.

CNA has asked the Malaysia Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for official confirmation on whether Yeo is part of the advisory group, and who else might be in the group.

Yeo referred CNA's queries on the dinner photo to Malaysia's PMO.

Analysts previously told CNA that Anwar’s decision to appoint an ASEAN informal advisory group was “unusual” and “maverick”, and designed to make headway in complex regional issues such as the Myanmar crisis.

The move to appoint names like Thaksin had raised eyebrows in Malaysian political circles, with a politician from the opposition Parti Islam Se-Malaysia questioning whether Anwar was only doing this for his personal gain.

At the time, Anwar had only confirmed Thaksin as chair of the informal advisory group and identified Yeo as a possible member of the team. Media reports then mentioned former Indonesia foreign minister Retno Marsudi as another potential candidate.

Thaksin was convicted in Thailand of corruption and abuse of power.

But an analyst had told CNA that Thaksin’s appointment could be linked to his familiarity with Myanmar’s political landscape as well as his connections in the country.

CRYPTOCURRENCY POLICY

While Anwar did not elaborate on his cryptocurrency discussions with the ASEAN advisory team, the Malaysian premier revealed that the government is considering drafting a policy on digital finance, local media reported on Jan 15.

The policy could see Malaysia recognising the use of cryptocurrencies and the existence of blockchain technology.

At the end of a three-day official visit to Abu Dhabi in January, Anwar told Malaysia reporters he had discussed the idea with the United Arab Emirates government and cryptocurrency giant Binance.

“This innovation, like AI, will change the financial world. We should not sit idly and wait, only to be forced to act after others have already done so,” Anwar reportedly said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of the article identified one of Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's dinner guests as former Cambodia premier Hun Sen and suggested that he was a member of the informal ASEAN advisory group. These are incorrect. We are sorry for the errors.