The Prayut Chan-o-cha government has this week made itself look increasingly like the highly authoritarian administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping -- intolerant to dissent and obsessive about repression.
While its latest move to tighten surveillance of certain groups of people could further infringe on their personal liberties, the government's branding of these groups as "high-risk political elements" is needlessly overdone and generates concern about what its next steps may be.
Staging crackdowns on political dissidents and critics of the regime is not a new tactic employed by the military administration since it took power in the 2014 coup. Hundreds of people have either been arrested, temporarily detained, charged, tried in military courts or jailed. Some have been forced to undergo an "attitude adjustment" session in a military camp, similar to the Chinese government's "reeducation" programme for dissidents.
But the timing of the surveillance mission and the government's questionable motive for spreading news about its fear of "unrest" have set a grim tone for Thailand's already dim-looking political future.
On Wednesday, Deputy Defence Minister Udomdej Sitabutr told the media that Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered security agencies to closely monitor "high-risk political elements". That prompted the police to issue a circular instructing its units nationwide to keep a close watch on certain political groups citing rumours about their "plots" to mobilise supporters to protest against the government.
Gen Udondej did not elaborate on which specific groups or what kind of movements he was referring to. A police source was more specific, pointing to "anti-coup groups in Thailand and abroad attempting to undermine the government's stability" by "spreading false information" to people.
Setting aside the tone and language communicated by the government and the urgency and prominence it has given to the issue, there is no major cause for concern for the public even if these alleged anti-coup elements exist.
The military has never run short of critics trying to hold the government to account on a weekly or daily basis. But they do not pose a threat to public safety. None of them have been able to threaten the stability of the government, thanks to the lengthy political ban imposed by the regime.
The surveillance operation comes at a time when calls for the regime to lift the ban are growing as the nation moves towards the general election Gen Prayut has promised will be staged next November.
In addition to brushing aside these calls, the government seems to be trying to fear-monger by planting seeds of doubt about threats to safety and the risk of "disturbances" in the public's mind.
Some worry this could be used as grounds for the regime to tighten its grip on power, to keep the political ban in place and delay the poll, and, at the very worst, to widen its suppression of its critics and opponents.
In fact, there is no reason for the state to mobilise such resources for surveillance purposes. There is also no need to cause public panic.
If the government believes false information is being distributed, it has enough media channels to correct it. There have been no political demonstrations in years and the regime, given its legions of security personnel, has nothing to fret about. Peaceful political gatherings should really have been allowed already.
What is worrying is the lack of details about this surveillance operation and the risk of it violating people's rights and liberties.
The regime must realise it can avoid dissent by lifting the political ban, allowing greater freedom of expression, refraining from repressive action, and showing its determination to return power to the people by next November.
People's discontent and impatience with the government does not pose any imminent threat to the country. The regime's intolerance to opposition does.