Just like in the USA, most of those laws are selectively enforced. They aren't aimed at Western expats (unless they decide to spray paint graffiti on trains) - they are aimed at boorish Malay and Indonesian farmer types who spit on the sidewalk, engage in public drunkenness, and otherwise threaten the cherished Chinese concept of "social order". The same holds true in China, for that matter - much of what is ascribed by an uncomprehending Western media to top-down Communist authoritarianism is actually a codification of Chinese cultural beliefs that go back thousands of years. The people there really do have the government they want, hard as it is for Americans to believe. Do we have the government we want?
It's a different culture, and judging Singapore (or China) by one's lack of freedom to stage angry political protests misses the point. It seems we can't do that in the USA anymore, either, without earning a visit from the SS or DHS.
And the truth is, American social conservatives would love Singapore. It's like an ultra-high tech Orlando, Florida - minus the frequent outbursts from Holder's People. :)
Wow! Seriously, your post is the best post on this entire thread. You explain so carefully the social history of Singapore. I always suspected the “spitting” laws had something to do with the culture itself - not with Western expats.
Let me ask you another question: what is the attitude towards gays? I assume that some of these wealthy expats will be gay guys. From what Ian McKellan once did in Singapore (going on tv and calling out the anti-sodomy laws),I suspect that gay activism and/or activity could get you in big trouble.
Moreover, the basis of freedom is - protecting the right of the person, and his property, from illegal seizure. That’s it.
You may only speak freely, if you will not be randomly seized/harmed because of it. Being able to parade naked down 5th Ave. with one’s gay-lover while holding a “Obama=Hitler” sign is simply a manifestation of that. It is not, in itself, “freedom.”
We may therefore argue Singapore is, in some ways, more free than the United States.