Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, right, wife of deposed PM Thaksin, met with Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda at his residence yesterday. She was accompanied by General Oud Buengbon, left, a close aide to Prem, and her unidentified lawyer.

Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda landed himself in hot water yesterday for allowing the wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to meet him at his residence, as many observers saw the meeting as inappropriate.

General Oud Buengbon, Prem's close aide who is member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), sent his Mercedes-Benz sedan for Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra and her brother Bhanapot Damapong to see Prem at his residence in the morning.

Pojaman and Bhanapot spent 15 minutes at Prem's house before leaving without giving any interview.

Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD) secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said the meeting between Prem and Pojaman was unsuitable as Prem had a prominent role in the military coup on September 19.

He said that after the coup, representatives from many groups had asked for Prem's help but Prem had his secretary receive the petitions and tried to keep a distance from politics. However, he added, Prem made a mistake by allowing his close aide Oud to pick Pojaman up to see him at his residence.

Suriyasai said it could make people wonder if there was a hidden agenda. Moreover, it might have a psychological effect on the military and agencies investigating the Shinawatra family's misdeeds. They could lose confidence over whether the top brass had made any agreements. Prem was taking an unnecessary risk, he said.

Plus, Pojaman and Thai Rak Thai Party members, including those with links to underground groups, would greatly benefit from the meeting. They would feel more encouraged that Thaksin and the party were fine and may return to power at an appropriate time, as the leaders had held political talks.

"Prem has to explain to people what happened. At the same time, Pojaman should stop lobbying or attempting to launder her family's faults as the investigation is still running. I'd like to warn the Council for National Security (CNS), the government and people involved not to hope they can solve the country's problems if they can't distinguish between good and the evil," he said.

The anti-Thaksin group People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) would rally if Thaksin was allowed to come back before his innocence was proved, he said.

A politician from the Democrat Party believed the meeting would help Pojaman gain the upper hand. "It creates a picture of the little woman fighting against the coup for her family and husband to reunite in their hometown."

Pojaman's strategy was to make the public feel sympathetic to her family - having been bullied by powerful figures and the military. "Nobody could represent Thaksin better than Pojaman," he said.

Pojaman also wanted to discredit Prem and the coup makers. It appeared that she was sending a signal to Thai Rak Thai supporters that Prem played a crucial role in the coup and had influence over the junta, the source said.

"And if Thaksin can't return to Thailand they [his supporters] would think it was because of Prem [for refusing permission]," he said.

Deputy rector of Silpakorn University Chareon Khampeerapap said if the meeting was aimed at bargaining for Thaksin's return to the country, which was the government's authority, it would confuse people. "The two have to be careful otherwise people will wonder if Gen Prem has as much power as the government. If so, every Thai who is in trouble can go to see him and ask for help," he said.

Oud admitted he made an appointment for Pojaman to see Prem at her request. However, he said Pojaman didn't talk about politics, or investigations into corruption by Thaksin's government, or her husband's return.

"There was no discussion about politics or power seizing. Khunying Pojaman met General Prem in a respect-paying manner and simply asked about each other's well-being. Moreover, Khunying Pojaman told General Prem about her daily life while she was in the United Kingdom," he said.

Prem asked her about Thaksin, she said he was fine and played golf regularly, Oud said.

"I understood that one day I would have to accept I would no longer occupy the position of a prime minister's wife," Pojaman was quoted as saying.

A source, who asked not to named, said no one in Prem's house had acknowledged the planned meeting before, except Oud. His oldest son works for a Shinawatra company and is also married to Pojaman's niece.

Another source claimed Pojaman tried to ask Prem for permission for Thaksin to return, and she apologised for everything because she had not meant for things to turn out as they did. She said Thaksin had spent his time abroad soul searching and admitted there were both people loving him - and otherwise.

Prem was quoted as responding: "It's not my duty to allow anybody to return. You have to talk to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the Army chief and chairman of the Council for National Security, and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont. I am only a mediator. I cannot order anyone. I had never interfered in politics or anyone's work, but people have said so."

Sonthi, meanwhile, insisted yesterday that if Thaksin wanted to come back he would have to notify him first. Even if Thaksin chartered a flight back to Bangkok, "I will not allow him to land without informing me," he said.

The time was not right for Thaksin to return , he said, but the former PM still had a chance.

Sonthi denied that Pojaman contacted him after meeting with Gen Prem. He said she had not arranged to meet Prem through the CNS but through a well-respected figure.

Asked if the meeting put pressure on the CNS, he said: "You have to ask Gen Prem what they discussed."

A source from Thai Rak Thai Party, who asked not to be named, said it was the third time Pojaman had visited Prem. She promised Prem that Thaksin wouldn't cause any political trouble in the near future and asked for permission for him to return to Thailand. But Prem didn't say anything about her request.

The first two times she visited him were before the military coup. She had told Prem that Thaksin would take a break from politics if he won the election, and had asked that a military coup not happen. Prem hadn't responded, the source said.

Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadol Pattama, who did not join Pojaman during her visit, said Pojaman just went to pay respects to Prem, the way a young person pays respects to a senior. She had visited Prem before and wanted to visit him quietly. She didn't talk to him about politics and didn't visit to ask for permission for Thaksin to return, as the media reported.

Noppadol held a press conference earlier this week at a Bangkok hotel to say Thaksin had no plan to return to the country in the near future.