Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Sunday that he was ready to advise his daughter Paetongtarn who, as Thailand's new prime minister, would face tough tasks – but whose humility he believed would secure support from everyone.
Thaksin spoke about his support for his youngest child, the country's youngest prime minister, on Sunday as she officially received royal approval for her prime ministerial post.
“She knows that she will be tired, must dedicate herself and must draw collaboration from all parties… In the past I stood in front of her and she was behind me. Today she stands in front of me and I am in the back,” Thaksin, 75, said of his 37-year-old daughter.
He said that Ms Paetongtarn could phone him to seek his advice on all matters but he would not give her any political support because “I am old. I am 75 years old now.”
Thaksin said he would have nothing to do with the formation of the new cabinet. The matter was the responsibility of the prime minister, he said.
Thaksin also said he viewed the young age of his daughter positively.
“She is young. She can visit all organisations to seek their assistance and cooperation. She is not snobbish. She is humble,” Thaksin said.
Ms Paetongtarn said she would seek Thaksin’s advice as long as it was appropriate to do so and would not lead to any legal problems.
“This big job cannot be accomplished by a single person… So, I must seek advice from all experienced people so that the assumption of the prime ministerial position is meaningful and can implement as many policies as possible for the national interest,” she said.
Ms Paetongtarn also said that she would do her best as prime minister to avoid facing any prosecutions like her father and aunt (Yingluck Shinawatra) had done.
On Sunday the newly appointed prime minister did not give a timeframe to reporters for the formation of her cabinet.
Thaksin returned to Thailand last August after 15 years of self-exile, having jumped bail and fled the country in 2008, claiming he could not get a fair trial on various charges he said were politically motivated.
The day he returned to Bangkok, Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison — later reduced to one year under an earlier royal pardon — for conflict of interest and abuse of authority while in power from 2001-06.
He never spent a night behind bars but instead spent six months in Police General Hospital. He qualified for parole in February based on his age and health condition and the fact that he had served half his sentence.
On Sept 27, 2017, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced Yingluck to five years in jail for failing to stop fake and corruption-plagued government-to-government sales of rice from her government's rice-pledging scheme. The court pronounced judgement in Yingluck's absence. The announcement was postponed from Aug 25, 2017, after she failed to appear. A warrant was subsequently issued for her arrest.
Yingluck was reported to have fled the country to meet Thaksin in Dubai before the court delivered its decision.
Thaksin hoped Yingluck would return this year.