The Political Donations Bill, due for its second reading in parliament today, will restrict anonymous donations and ban all foreign help to political parties and some non-government organisations.

Like other countries, Singapore's many small opposition parties have no qualms about blocking foreign assistance. None wants to be seen as a puppet for overseas interests. What they fear, however, is local political sympathisers withdrawing financial support if they have to be named, for fear of persecution.

Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, said: "For years, the PAP has been coming up with all sorts of schemes and laws to make it increasingly difficult for the opposition to establish itself." Opponents have also expressed concern over the added administrative burden that would be created by maintaining transparent accounts.

The dominant PAP, which has governed Singapore since independence, may be flush with funds. But most opposition parties have few members and exist on shoestring budgets. The new bill, if it becomes law as expected, would only allow anonymous donations to each party of S$5,000 in any financial year.

The Workers' Party's Low Thia Khiang, one of just three opposition members in parliament, said: "When we hold rallies, we receive small donations which might end up to be more than S$5,000. How are we expected to account for them all? To avoid any legal tangle, the party would need to ask for the donors' identity cards to prove that they are permissible donors. That will deter people from donating to us, and will cut off one important source of funds for the Workers' Party," he said.

MP Chiam See Tong of the Singapore People's Party said most of his party's donations came from party members. "I think it's going to be awkward if their identities are to be declared," he said.

Singapore's third opposition MP, Joshua Jeyaretnam, the veteran Workers' Party leader, has frequently relied on public contributions over the years to pay off hefty libel bills after being repeatedly sued by PAP members and ministers. This month he narrowly escaped bankruptcy and automatic ejection from parliament.

Singaporeans tend to be shy about publicly admitting their support for opposition parties. Even the biggest opposition party has only at most a few hundred registered members on its party rolls. However, it claims its grassroots support is significantly wider.

The new bill will also require political societies to register any donation of S$10,000 or more in a financial year. The home affairs minister would have the freedom to define which civil societies are political in nature and thus bound by the law.