S'pore opposition politician seeks president's aid

S'pore opposition politician seeks president's aid

SINGAPORE (Reuters): A Singapore opposition politician speaking out for free speech will ask President Ong Teng Cheong to refer his campaign to the constitutional court, his lawyer said on Monday.

"It is the president who can refer any matter to the constitutional court and so we've got to write to the president to ask whether he would send this up," Joshua Jeyaretnam told reporters outside Singapore's Subordinate Court.

Jeyaretnam, head of the opposition Worker's Party, was representing Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan, charged under the Public Entertainment Act earlier this month after giving a public speech without a permit.

Chee has pleaded not guilty to the offense, which carries a fine of up to Singapore $5,000 (US$3,000). A fine of that level would bar Chee from standing for election for five years.

A judge had earlier rejected Jeyaretnam's request to refer Chee's case to the constitutional court and instead set a trial date of Feb. 1.

Jeyaretnam, a veteran opposition politician, said the constitutional right of free speech lay at the heart of Chee's campaign.

"It concerns the constitutional rights of all citizens of Singapore," Jeyaretnam said. "This prosecution cuts across the rights of all citizens."

Chee was charged after making an unlicensed speech to a crowd in Singapore's central business district on Dec. 29. He made a second on Jan. 5 and plans to speak again at the National University of Singapore later this week.

He risks arrest if he goes on speaking without a permit, but says the opposition movement struggles to be heard in a system requiring permission for public speaking, where print and broadcast media are state-run and the threat of a punitive Internal Security Act hands over the heads of dissenters.

The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has made no comment on Chee's campaign but says everyone must abide by the law. Chee said his right of reply to articles and letters which had appeared about his speech campaign in the Singapore media had not been honored.

Singapore has just two elected opposition members of parliament, plus Jeyaretnam who holds a seat as the 1997 election's best loser.

The PAP, which has controlled Singapore since 1965, holds 81 of 83 elected seats.

Chee, who said he was warned by government officials earlier in the day about selling his latest book without a permit, said he was prepared to go to jail to defend the right to free speech and freedom of information.