Singapore opposition leader discharged from bankruptcy

VETERAN Singapore opposition politician JB Jeyaretnam said he had paid off damages in defamation suits brought by the government, which should discharge him as a bankrupt and allow him to run in future elections, reports Reuters. Jeyaretnam, 81, said he paid the sum of S$233,256 (US$153,600) to the government to discharge himself from bankruptcy. A government official confirmed that the payment was received.

"I'm relieved but it's a very high price that I've had to pay," Jeyaretnam said, adding that he had received financial assistance from his two sons, added Reuters. Bankrupts are not allowed to run in elections in Singapore.

When I first saw the news on a Singapore blog, I did a Google News search and saw it had been reported in three foreign newspapers -- the San Diego Union Tribune, Gulf Times and Brunei Times -- but not in Channel NewsAsia or the rest of the Singapore mainstream media. That's curious since the foreign newspapers published the news, reported by Reuters and AFP, either yesterday or the day before. If the local media doesn't carry all the news, people will turn to alternative media. (Channel NewsAsia reported last month that he would be discharged from bankruptcy once he paid the money, but didn't follow up when he paid up.)

I know very little about Jeyaretnam beyond what can be found in Answers.com, Wikipedia and other Internet sites. But I remember seeing walking him alone in Little India.I never approached him but  naturally looked at him. With his muttonchop whiskers, he looked like a Victorian gentleman.

Both Reuters and AFP recalled his political career in their reports on Friday:

Jeyaretnam was the first opposition politician to win a seat in parliament in 1981, breaking the ruling People's Action Party's total dominance of parliament since the country's independence in 1965.

He was re-elected in 1984, but two years later he was forced to give up his parliamentary seat after being fined and sentenced to one month in jail following the lawsuits filed by his political opponents.

"I want to continue with what I've been doing ... fighting for the people who are deprived, who are oppressed," (he said).

However, Jeyaretnam, said he was not sure if he would contest the next general election expected in 2011.

A lawyer who has been sued many times for slander and defamation throughout his political career, Jeyaretnam was declared bankrupt in 2001 after he failed to pay S$265,000 (US$155,300) worth of defamation damages.

Plaintiffs in the case included then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and then Foreign Affairs Minister S Jayakumar.

Almost all Singapore's leading opposition figures have faced legal action at some time by PAP leaders, who say the lawsuits are necessary to safeguard their reputations.

The ruling PAP has dominated parliament since independence in 1965. It won 82 of 84 seats in May 2006.

I must add the PAP has provided good government, making Singapore Asia's second richest country after Japan. Singapore's ministers are among the highest paid in the world; even the juniormost minister earns more than President Bush. Singapore is a meritocracy whose leadership believes in paying top dollar for top talent.

Jeyaretnam, who went to university in England and served in the Singapore judiciary before going into private practice, could have enjoyed success as a lawyer. Instead, he became a bankrupt opposing the government.That might seem selfless and idealistic. But one can only wonder about the strain it put on him and his family. His sons had to help him get out of bankruptcy.

Compare that with the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of Singapore and founder of the ruling party. His son, Lee Hsien Loong, is now prime minister of Singapore. And he himself remains a senior minister.The economy is booming and both his and his son's ministerial pay will be going up from more than S$2 million to over S$3 million. Of all the great leaders who may be called fathers of their nations -- Gandhi, George Washington, Nelson Mandela -- Lee Kuan Yew must be the most successful and possibly the best recompensed.

PS: Jeyaretnam's image is taken from the Think Centre website. I found the picture through a Google Image search which led me to that website.