Lest anyone doubts that the Singapore government has complete control over the people in Singapore and will not hesitate to get rid of you if you don't do as they say- here's a story from the Straits Times:

CAPTAIN Ryan Goh Yew Hock, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot singled out as the instigator behind last year's ouster of the pilot union's executive committee, has been served notice that his Singapore permanent residency (PR) is to be revoked. ...

Capt Goh was singled out by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew at an Istana meeting with pilots on Feb 26 for 'instigating' a leadership ouster in the Air Line Pilots Association Singapore (Alpa-S) last November.
At the meeting, he was accused of working behind the scenes, crafting a petition to oust the council, but not signing it himself.
It was revealed that prior to his moves against the union leadership, he had, in November 2002, accepted Australian PR. He bought a house in Perth, moved his wife and children and shipped his car there, and had sold his flat in Toa Payoh.
The upshot was that Capt Goh had kept secret his plans to widen his options while he moved behind the scenes to undermine industrial peace in SIA, which would also affect the interests of Singapore.
Mr Lee made the point at that meeting that if Singapore 'goes down, it is not just SIA that goes down, but you go down too'. But it was a different for PRs as they could opt out.

The article goes on to mention that they interviewed him at his other property in Katong- which means he is still a landowner in Singapore. It also mentions that he has been in Singapore for 26 years. The transcription of SM Lee's dialogue with the pilots also reveals a different picture. Goh's daughter is still schooling in Singapore, his son went to Australia because he could not cope with the Chinese language education in Singapore schools (something quite common, by the way), and that he shipped his car because he couldn't afford to keep it, and now takes the bus (something else that's not uncommon). Goh makes a number of attempts to explain his situation, but SM Lee keeps cutting him off, freely interpreting his situation to suit his purposes, and refusing to let him make at least one defence of himself. After SM Lee stops talking to Mr Goh, Goh falls silent and doesn't speak for the rest of the dialogue. Regardless of how well founded your accusations are, isn't the accused entitled to an explanation?

As I understood the situation over the previous months (by reading between the lines of the Straits Times- not the best way but the only way to get an idea of what is going on) The ouster of the Alpa-S ExCo was because they were not adequately representing their pilots' interests. They kept kowtowing to the government's demands. The new group, being a lot more naive, thought they could take on the government and gain more benefits for their pilots. Perhaps they were inspired by successful industrial action in the USA which has made major airlines completely unprofitable. In any event, the government wasn't going to let them compromise Singapore Airline's flexibility and profitability. Never mind that that their jobs were going to foreign pilots, and they were feeling Singapore's recession as much as anyone, probably just wanted a better deal, and were probably willing to negotiate (they couldn't be that stupid to think they could beat the government, not when the government controls the courts as well). No, SM Lee comes down hard, scolds all of them as basically being traitors to the great Singapore success story, kicks whoever he can out of the country, and ensures they are thoroughly cowed.

In the end, perhaps SM Lee has a point- Singapore's airport and airline must remain competitive if Singapore herself is to prosper, since so much of Singapore's economy is reliant upon her port and airport. Yet as the government have already admitted, Singapore must change in the 21st century to remain competitive, and greater freedom of thought and open exchange of dialogue is an essential part of that change. SM Lee's style of government, so successful in bringing us this far, is not going to help Singapore in the future. Revoking the right of a person to stay in Singapore because they have very different ideas is not something which will help us develop helpful but different ideas in the future. I hope when Lee II inevitably succeeds to office, he builds on PM Goh's open and consensual style of government than his father's autocratic style and dogmatic inflexibility. As it is, SM Lee's continued intervention is stifling institutional change and ensuring that Singapore's culture of obedience will continue. For all our sakes, SM Lee, go quietly into retirement. Please.

EDIT: More insensitivity from my government is detailed on my friend Pinnards' website. They are running an anti-drug campaign which tells you that if you use ketmine, you become "as stupid and forgetful as an 80 year old". I wish I knew which genius thought that one up. My grandfather (82 and still going strong, thanks to his mastery of tai chi) would go and teach him how our senior citizens don't take kindly to being called "stupid and forgetful".