The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), the state's national security apparatus, is once again in the media spotlight, mired in reputational fallout. This time, former House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha suggested in parliament that Isoc should be abolished because its duties overlap with those of other agencies and its work does not justify its enormous budget. His suggestion was dismissed outright by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who insisted that Isoc is a permanent fixture of the country.
Mr Wan is not the first critic of the security agency. Human rights advocates and political activists have long called on successive governments to disband it or, at the very least, undertake root-and-branch reform. Their concerns should not go unheeded. Isoc's track record is troubling, inspiring fear more often than the sense of security it was created to provide.
