Singapore opposition figure pleads for public help

Singapore's most prominent opposition figure, bankrupted by libel suits brought by ruling party leaders, called on the public on Saturday to help him pay his debt in a final, desperate bid to re-enter politics.
J.B. Jeyaretnam, who last week lost a legal battle to discharge a bankruptcy ruling barring him from standing in the next general election, said his plea was his last attempt at standing as an opposition politician.
All legal avenues had been exhausted, the feisty 79-year-old politician told a news conference. The last measure was to rely on Singaporeans to help him pay off debts following three libel suits, including one by brought by former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
"Whether I can do anything, that really depends on the people of Singapore," Jeyaretnam said. "Because I can only get my discharge if I now pay the full amount."
Jeyaretnam owed 15 creditors a total S$618,206 ($377,400) and has paid about S$100,000 of that over the last three years. He said his supporters would pay a third of the outstanding debts but that he needed help from the public with the rest.
The US State Department, in its February annual report, sharply criticised Singapore for using libel suits to intimidate opposition politicians, saying the threat of libel had stifled political opinion and disadvantaged the opposition.
Under Singapore's bankruptcy laws, a declared bankrupt cannot hold political office but can be discharged from their debts after three years if the creditors approve.
Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin ruled on Thursday it was premature to discharge Jeyaretnam from bankruptcy because his assets were not fully determined after a recent disclosure that Jeyaretnam owned property in Malaysia.
Jeyaretnam had said the property was in his late sister's name and that Malaysia's courts had yet to decide who was entitled to the asset.
Jeyaretnam, a lawyer who has been sued many times for slander and defamation throughout his political career, was declared bankrupt in 2001 after defaulting on an instalment of a S$265,000 ($161,600) defamation damages award.
The People's Action Party, first under Lee Kuan Yew and now under his son Lee Hsien Loong, has kept a stranglehold on parliament since independence in 1965. It won 82 of 84 seats in the November 2001 elections and has never lost more than four seats in any election.