Justice was not cherished and people were afraid to identify with the opposition because they could be victimised and detained without trial, Joshua Jeyaretnam told a Chinese University student forum.

The forum was organised to oppose the granting of an honorary doctorate by the university to Singapore's former prime minister, now Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

There was complete absence of freedom of expression in Singapore as all media there were under government control, said Mr Jeyaretnam, member of Parliament and secretary-general of the Singapore Workers' Party. ``Freedom of expression is a valuable thing but we don't have it in Singapore,'' he said.

Many Singaporeans had not shared the tiny country's prosperity, with about 40per cent of workers earning barely enough to support themselves. ``There is a great discrepancy between the rich and the poor.''

Mr Lee is due to receive an honorary law doctorate at the university's 56th congregation on December 7.

Announcing the award, the university described Mr Lee as an eminent statesman and a brilliant lawyer, as well as founding father of Singapore, a ``financial and industrial powerhouse''.

A signature campaign by a group of alumni and students of the university has collected 250 signatures opposing the doctorate. Organisers say the move will honour Mr Lee's policies of ``pseudo-democracy and denial of human rights''.