Few people in Bangkok, and indeed in the rest of the country, need to be reminded that insurgents now have the capability to launch terrorist attacks anywhere, given the bombings in the capital city on New Year's Eve, which killed three people and injured dozens of others. Our sense of smug complacency has been shattered and we have come to the realisation that Bangkok and other commercial, industrial and tourist centres are not invulnerable to terrorist strikes.

In their first reaction to the blasts in Bangkok on December 31 last year, the Surayud administration and the military junta ruled out the possibility that terrorists sympathetic to the separatist cause in the Malay-speaking South were responsible for these heinous crimes. They preferred to put the blame on "disaffected elements with links to those who have recently lost political power" - a thinly veiled reference to allies of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Obviously, the government and the CNS would be reluctant to admit that their failure to suppress the insurgency in the South had resulted in terrorism spreading to other parts of the country. But almost two months after the Bangkok bombings, police investigators have yet to produce any evidence to substantiate charges against rogue police and military officers known to have close connections with the old regime.

The time has come for the government and the CNS to tell people the truth about terrorism - which is the number one national security threat - and the need for our society to get organised to fight it.

People must be told in no uncertain terms that these terrorists, who have no qualms about killing and maiming men, women and children, want not only to destabilise politics, wreak havoc on the economy and damage social harmony. They also want to strike fear in the hearts of common citizens, disrupt their everyday lives and wear down their will to oppose terrorists' devious designs.

Less than two months after the terrorist attacks in Bangkok, most people have already been lulled into a false sense of security. The fact that the Bangkok attacks involved small, improvised explosive devices that killed only a few people does not mean that the next wave of strikes will follow suit.

To be successful in preventing terrorist attacks, we must succeed 100 per cent of the time. The odds are in the terrorists' favour: they only need to be successful once out of numerous failed attempts, in order to commit an atrocity of disproportionate consequences.

It is better for the government to come clean with the public about its anti-terrorism, counter-insurgency capabilities and what sorts of specific help they might need from citizens in order to reinforce a countrywide security shield.

In Bangkok and other big cities, security must be tightened in all public places, not just in some specific areas. The government must deploy visibly armed and well-trained troopers at public places from bus terminals, railway stations and airports, to government offices and public buildings. This is the only way to constantly remind people to stay alert.

To prevent widespread panic, members of the public must be educated about the clear and present danger of terrorism and how individuals can contribute to public safety by staying vigilant. Emergency medical services must be upgraded so that they will be able to offer life-saving pre-hospital care to victims in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack. The fire brigade and emergency rescue units must be equipped with heavy-lifting equipment and machines that can cut through wreckage and collapsed masonry.

This country will be in the fight against terrorism for the long haul. And the time to raise public awareness and improve our capability to fight terrorism is now.