VETERAN Singapore opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam moved closer to losing his seat in parliament Mar 2 when the High Court dismissed his petition for the stay of a bankruptcy order.

It was the second legal defeat for the 74-year-old secretary general of the Workers Party who is left with the Court of Appeal as the final avenue to explore.

"I have to consider whether I should pursue another application, this time before a judge of the Court of Appeal for a stay," Jeyaretnam, one of only three opposition members in the 93-seat parliament, said.

Last month, Jeyaretnam lost his first appeal against bankruptcy when the High Court ruled he was bound by an order last year to pay installments on a defamation claim on fixed dates.

A second application asking the High Court to stay the order declaring him bankrupt was rejected Mar 2 by High Court Judicial Commissioner Chan Seng Onn.

Under Singapore law, Jeyaretnam will lose his seat in parliament and be barred from running for office if a final ruling is made declaring him bankrupt.

He was made a bankrupt Jan 19 after he missed the deadline to make a S$23,450 (US$13,477 US) payment for damages awarded to political opponents who had sued him for defamation.

He owes $235,000 to eight leaders of the local Indian community who successfully claimed they were defamed in a 1995 Workers Party article.

Jeyaretnam broke a 16-year monopoly by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) when he was first elected to parliament in 1981.

The staunch long-time foe of the PAP faces more legal hurdles with several PAP leaders including former premier Lee Kuan Yew pressing defamation cases against him.