"That is far from the case," the 76-year-old said following a spate of reports suggesting that after 30 years of challenging the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), he was ready to leave the political stage.

"I set myself a task when I entered politics to reduce the PAP majority in parliament to less than two-thirds. That task is not finished and so long as I have the health and strength I intend to persevere in that task," he said.

The colourful politician has not commented on his decision this week to resign as head of the Workers Party other than saying "it was time that new blood took over the position of secretary-general."

A champion of issues such as the abolition of the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial, and the promotion of human rights and democracy, Jeyaretnam entered parliament in 1981, becoming the first non-PAP member since independence in 1965.

He is one of only three opposition MPs in the current 92-seat parliament and said: "God willing, I shall be participating in the next elections."

But his immediate battle is to retain his eligibility for the next general elections, not due until August 2002 but widely expected to take place before then.

Last weekend, he was the focal point of the first legally-sanctioned demonstration outside of an election period in Singapore, when the civil rights group Think Centre staged a fund-raising rally for the veteran politican who faces bankruptcy.

He owes S$235,000 (US$130,000) from a defamation suit and if the debt cannot be cleared he will be automatically disqualified from politics.

In a rally speech, Think Centre spokesman Jacob George said Jeyaretnam was needed in parliament because "he has been a beacon for democracy" in Singapore.

After being elected to parliament in 1981, Jeyaretnam became the bete noire of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, beginning a legendary debate with Singapore's founding father.

"Lee Kuan Yew had said more than once that I had to be destroyed because he said I was against the system. He begged the questions as to what system I was against," Jeyaretnam wrote in his book Making it Right for Singapore.

"I had made it plain right from my entry into parliament that I was against the system the PAP had imposed on Singapore which I said was anything but democratic."

Sri Lankan born Jeyaretnam, who arrived in Singapore in 1946 before studying Law at University College, London, joined the Workers Party when it was all but dormant in 1971 and was elected to parliament in 1981 and 1984. He was appointed by the Workers Party as a non-constituency MP following the 1991 and 1997 elections.

The Think Centre is to announce on May 4 how much money was raised for Jeyaretnam and whether it would stave off the bankruptcy.

If he does overcome this legal hurdle, several PAP leaders including former premier Lee are pressing other defamation cases against him.

A recent US report on human rights in Singapore, which cited cases against Jeyaretnam, said Singaporean leaders "historically have utilized court proceedings, in particular defamation suits, against political opponents and critics.

"These suits, which consistently have been decided in favor of government plaintiffs, have chilled political speech and action."