Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), said Queen's Counsel (QC) Stuart Littlemore was the most suitable lawyer to defend him against the defamation charges.

"Right now, I am of the view that Stuart Littlemore is still the best person to represent me," Chee told reporters after a closed-door hearing at the Singapore High Court.

Chee said he had been given 30 days to lodge an appeal to be represented by Sydney-based Littlemore.

Pending the outcome of his appeal, the defamation suits brought by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew have been adjourned, the SDP chief said.

"I have applied for this hearing to be adjourned, meaning postponed until I can resolve the matter of getting my QC in," said Chee.

"So right now I have to appeal. I want to appeal against the decision that was made on Friday by Justice Lai," he said.

Justice Lai Kew Chai ruled Friday that Littlemore, who had been critical of the Singapore judiciary, was not suitable to appear in courts here.

"I am afraid that Mr Littlemore is not a suitable person to be accorded the privilege to appear in this court," Lai said, adding the Australian "lacks decency."

In 1997, Littlemore monitored on behalf of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) a high-profile defamation suit filed by Goh and other officials against another opposition leader, J. B. Jeyaretnam, who was ordered to pay damages.

Littlemore subsequently authored an ICJ report accusing the Singapore judiciary of being compliant to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which Singapore officials vehemently denied.

Goh and Lee are suing Chee for aggravated damages arising from claims by the opposition leader that S$17 billion (US$9.2 billion) was lent to ousted Indonesian leader Suharto.

Goh said the money was never disbursed to Indonesia as the loan, offered during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, had conditions attached and was not taken up by Suharto, who stepped down in May 1998.

Chee made a public apology and admitted making a false accusation but later retracted his statement saying it was made under "duress and intimidation".

Leaders of the ruling party over the years have won millions of dollars in damages as a result of lawsuits against opposition politicians who questioned their integrity.

The PAP won 82 of the 84 seats in the last elections, extending its unbroken rule since 1959 by another five years. Chee lost heavily when he contested a multiple-seat constituency against a PAP team.

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