The rally, scheduled for Mar 31, had been intended as a public show of support for Mr Jeyaretnam, who faces the loss of his parliamentary seat after being declared bankrupt in January.

However, event organiser Jacob George, secretary of the Committee To Save JBJ - Mr Jeyaretnam's initials - said Mar 26 that police feared the rally could lead to a breakdown in public order.

The police response released by Mr George quoted Assistant Director of Operations Gan Ah Lek saying, "I note that the nature of the event is a political rally. There is potential for law and order problems." Assistant Director Gan said no permit had been requested for collecting funds and added he also had concerns over who would be accountable should a disturbance occur.

"Due to the wide publicity . . . the event may attract a large crowd and will require the deployment of significant resources to manage the crowd," Assistant Director Gan said. "The resources will have to be raised and organised by the applicant."

Demonstrations in Singapore are tightly regulated. All gatherings of more than five people require a permit from the police or they are declared illegal.

The Mar 26 rebuttal is the second time in four months that permits have been denied for opposition events on the suspicion that law and order may be compromised.

In December, police rejected an application by the Open Singapore Centre, an independent think-tank, to organise a protest marathon to oppose the Internal Security Act, which permits detention without trial.

The Mar 26 denial "raised the question of licensing for political parties, organisations and individuals to solicit funds for their activities," Mr George said.

Mr Jeyaretnam, who heads the Workers' Party, is one of just a handful of opposition politicians in the island republic, where the political scene is dominated by the People's Action Party.