despite his successes, lee did not let up. If anything, he tightened his grip on power, curbing free speech and assembly, and went on the attack against political opponents. One of them, the gadfly lawyer and MP J.B. Jeyaretnam, was repeatedly sued for libel by Lee—a legal weapon the government often wields. Jeyaretnam was eventually declared bankrupt and, for a time, barred from contesting elections.