They saw in him a new regional leader like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Dr Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, two of Asia's most polished statesmen whose legacy will be remembered for generations to come.

They said Thaksin would be the man who would boost the country's international standing and restore the pride and dignity of the Thai people, which had been shattered by the 1997 economic crisis.

And in a very superficial way, Thaksin did restore some sense of dignity to a nation that has been trying to reinvent itself in this globalised world and redefine its position in Asia.

Thaksin knew what would make people feel good and he was not ashamed to push the envelope when it came to putting himself at the centre of attention. He personalised just about everything he touched and would not hesitate to take credit for whatever developments earned him political points.

There were times, it seemed, when the man could do no wrong. Not even the controversial war on drugs that resulted in the questionable deaths of some 3,000 people in the space of just three months. He even had the audacity to declare victory over the drug trade. Thousands of government employees were ordered en masse to the Hua Mark National Stadium for the victory ceremony, an event that greatly resembled North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's birthday party bashes.

When Thailand emerged from the shackles of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Thaksin called on the nation's people to fly high their red, white and blue.

Besides drugs, Thaksin maintained that corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency and poverty were also high on his list of targets. At a dinner at the foreign press club, Thaksin boasted about having a long list of corrupt officials linked to organised crime and drug lords, and said he would be merciless towards them.

To another audience, the premier boasted about he would show no mercy to the Wa drug army operating autonomously in the Burmese sector of the Golden Triangle, that he would take up the matter directly with Rangoon and seek help from Beijing.

Strangely enough, Thaksin approved the allocation of Bt25 million as seed money for a crop-substitution project that was supposed to help the United Wa Sate Army - the world's largest armed drug-trafficking army - kick the habit. Never mind that Wa drug caravans and Thai troops clashed regularly along the border.

Needless to say, the initiative to help the pro-Rangoon outfit never got off the ground as the international community gave the project the cold shoulder.

Thaksin also harboured a quirky ambition to transform Thailand into a major regional player. He grabbed at China's coattails and tried hard to be the first among equals in Beijing's eyes. But China never gave him any special recognition.

He boasted about realigning the country's strategic alliances and briefly singled out Russia as a potential ally as it was in the national interest to diversify defence ties. He even went as far as suggesting that the country's military could incorporate Russian-made jet fighters. A dramatic step, indeed, as jet fighters - like main battle tanks, advanced destroyers and frigates - are considered a part of the armed forces' main platform.

Besides attaining the status of national saviour, Thaksin also aspired to enhance his international profile. He never hesitated to boast about his stint at the Foreign Ministry, even though he was there only four months. What he lacked was a springboard into the international spotlight. Thus came about his two brainchildren - the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), a forum that is supposed to strengthen Asia's bargaining power, and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs), which is aimed at keeping neighbouring countries dependent on Thailand through cheap loans and transnational infrastructure projects.

While his populist projects managed to impress some leaders in neighbouring countries who were looking for quick ways to boost their ratings, not all were comfortable with his manner and tactics.

The ambitious Thai leader struck a wrong chord with too many people over the years, partly because of his lack of diplomatic finesse and sophistication and partly because his policies, which he tends to improvise instead of basing them on any sound principles. He had bitten off more than he could chew but he was too stubborn to admit it.

Thaksin accused Washington of being a "useless friend" and said, "the UN is not my father" when they raised questions over the drug-war killings.

Moreover, the Thai premier didn't understand that declaring "neutrality" in the aftermath of 9/11 was a slap in the face for a long-time ally, the United States.

In the end, he half-heartedly sent troops to Afghanistan and later Iraq as part of the US-led multinational coalition. To justify his actions, the government dug up some old UN resolutions that urged the world community to help Iraq with humanitarian needs.

While it won Thailand the status of a major non-Nato ally with the US, domestically it did not generate a positive outcome for Thaksin, especially among the Muslim population. Many in the community felt that Thaksin was insulting their intelligence when he claimed to be dispatching troops to Iraq as part of some decades-old UN initiative rather than to help the US oust the regime of Saddam Hussein.

This is the first of two articles on Thaksin Shinawatra's international profile over the past five years.

Don Pathan,

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation