Chee said he turned to Lee and Sydney-based William Henric Nicholas after his first choice Queen's Counsel Stuart Littlemore was rejected by the High Court as "not a suitable person" because he has previously criticised Singapore's judiciary.

Martin Lee is both a critic of the Singapore political system and of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew who along with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is suing Chee over claims made during last year's general election campaign.

The Hong Kong democrat reportedly once told a seminar on political openness: "I wish and pray that after Lee Kuan Yew there will be democracy" in Singapore.

Chee told reporters after a closed-door hearing with the High Court registrar that he would apply this week for both Martin Lee and Nicholas to be his new counsel.

"Both of them are specialists in the area of defamation law, so I'm very pleased... glad they agreed to represent me," the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general said.

"The registrar basically wants to know when they are going to be available so that they can actually set a date for the judgement which has been adjourned until the whole QC matter can be settled."

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

The accusation was made in the run-up to elections last November in which Chee lost heavily in a multiple-seat constituency against the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) team.

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.

Martin Lee, a Queen's Counsel and Hong Kong Democratic Party chairman, is a champion of political freedom and a critic of the Singapore system.

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