Despite Lee Kuan Yew's attempts to show Singapore as a democracy, it is far from it. Today, Singaporeans live in mortal fear of their government. The constitution is completely ignored. Singapore Parliament is merely a rubber stamp, the country being run entirely on the dictates of this one man, Lee Kuan Yew. Although the constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, the law requires permits to engage in such activity and permits are never granted. With one party rule, the people have no legal means to voice their dissent. Dr. Chee Soon Juan and other activists have engaged in peaceful protests for which they have been repeatedly charged and sent to prison. At this very moment, Singapore human rights activists, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Gandhi Ambalam, Chee Siok Chin and Yap Keng Ho are undergoing a trial for having engaged in a peaceful assembly, one of the many they have suffered.
In Singapore today, there is no free press. Every single newspaper and news media is controlled by the government. The judiciary is entirely politicized and they invariably abuse the law to punish political opponents. The Internal Security Act, giving the government the right to detain people without trial is being used. There are a number of people presently detained in Singapore under this law. The police force is being used as Lee Kuan Yew's private army to arrest detain and charge his political opponents.