Singapore, 16 May - In what is being seen as a step by the government of previously politically conservative Singapore to loosening the reins by freeing up political participation and encouraging critical thinking and alternative opinions since the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore has not prosecuted any social activists or people with an opposing view for "misusing resources to pursue personal and non-job-related interests" in recent months.
Analysts say this could be because most of the people have already been fired or sued, and those who haven't are already overseas, Additionally, spokesman Zhou Gou notes that praising the government or joining the PAP youth wing, or foreigners working in the government who blog and criticize Singaporeans and praise the PAP, is technically not considered misusing resources to pursue personal and non-job related interests.
Zhou Gou also notes that alleged defamation is incompatible with values of the government even though the court has not made a ruling, because being alleged is like, as serious as actually being proven to having done it.
The next general election is widely expected to be held later this year in 2015, or early in 2016. Most opposition politicians are already expecting a defamation suit or some charges of misusing government property etc, unfortunately, the ruling party has had to be creative in recent years because most of the opposition politicians or vocal bloggers with an opposing view have either already been fired or not been stupid enough to work for the government in the first place.
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