Singapore opposition veteran plans to contest poll

SINGAPORE, Mar 7 (Reuters) Singapore's opposition veteran J B Jeyaretnam is making a bid to get out of bankruptcy to contest the city-state's impending general election, the Straits Times newspaper reported today.

The pro-government paper said the 80-year-old politician, who was bankrupted by libel suits brought by leaders of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), has applied to pay off his debts, totalling about 369,200 dollars.

Bankrupts cannot contest elections in Singapore. If he succeeds, Jeyaretnam, the former Workers' Party leader wants to run as an independent, the report said.

A court hearing is set for next Tuesday.

If Jeyaretnam does contest, it will be the eighth time that he is takes part in an election.

''There's a job to be done. It's not finished yet -- to bring democracy to Singapore,'' the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Jeyaretnam broke the PAP's 15-year total dominance of parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election. He lost the seat in 1986 after he was declared bankrupt in the wake of a libel suit but returned to parliament in 1997.

He lost that in 2001 after becoming bankrupt.

Almost all Singapore's best-known Opposition figures have faced legal action at some time by prominent PAP members.

Opposition and critics such as rights group Amnesty International say that defamation lawsuits brought by Singapore leaders are designed to cripple the opposition. But Singapore's leaders say it is necessary to safeguard their reputations.

The ruling PAP has dominated parliament since independence in 1965. It won 82 of 84 seats in November 2001 elections and has never lost more than four seats in any election.

REUTERS VJ RAI0713