Those countries aren't stupid. Surely they already know of Tor's applications here. Certainly China puts significant effort into blocking it, for one example I'm familiar with.
After the pivot there remain two Singapore relays run by brave operators.
https://atlas.torproject.org/#search/SG
> Will the new greater emphasis on human rights cause Singapore's authorities to give it greater scrutiny? Maybe, maybe not. But it certainly won't help.
Yep. That's the argument. Their pivot is not the end of the world, but it definitely hurts.