Dr Chee said he could not raise the money to contest a court decision last month, which refused leave for Sydney QC Stuart Littlemore to represent him in the case, and he could not find another barrister willing to defend him without charge.

Without proper legal representation, he said, he had little hope of successfully defending himself and faced potential damages and costs of more than S$1million - a crippling bill likely to lead to his being bankrupted and banned from politics.

"At this moment $10,000 is not something that I have to spend. What little money I have I need to buy the basics for my family," said Dr Chee, who was sacked from his university teaching post after joining the opposition in the early 1990s. He now supports his young family from sales of his political books, and donations.

He said the bond - a "security deposit" against future court costs - was a measure that blocked the opposition from seeking redress in the courts: "If they know you are not well off they will ask for a deposit."

Dr Chee, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, is being sued by Mr Goh and Mr Lee over questions he asked in last year's election campaign about secret government loans to the former Suharto regime in Indonesia.

He is counter-suing Mr Lee, who publicly denounced the mild-mannered activist as a "political gangster, a liar and cheat", and the government-controlled media group Singapore Press Holdings, which published the attack.

In a decision last month, High Court judge Lai Kew Chai refused leave for Mr Littlemore to appear for Dr Chee, saying the lawyer was a man who "lacks decency ... measure and maturity". The former Media Watch presenter had previously called the Singapore judiciary a tool of the political elite.

Dr Chee said British lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, QC, could be willing to represent him, but Mr Robertson's criticisms of the Singapore legal system meant he also was likely to be barred by the High Court.

"There is no way I can do it on my own. I don't think I'm up to it," Dr Chee said.

He said Mr Goh and Mr Lee had already applied to the court to bypass hearings and give summary judgment, and there was a risk of aggravated damages being awarded against him.

"It could well end up over $1million in damages and costs and then they will pursue it to have me declared bankrupt when I can't pay, and after that I won't be able to stand for election," he said.

Last year former opposition Workers Party leader J.B. Jeyaretnam was banned from politics and from practising as a lawyer after being bankrupted for failing to meet a payment deadline from another defamation action involving Mr Goh, Mr Lee and other senior ministers.

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