"We want to highlight...to uncover the seriousness of poverty in Singapore," Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan told a news briefing on Thursday, April 25. "What you see down in Orchard Road, down in the central business district, doesn't quite tell you the whole story about Singapore."

Most visitors may not see much shabbiness beyond Singapore's soaring office towers, glittering shopping malls and green neighbourhoods.

Issues of poverty and unemployment, however, have come to the fore in recent months as Singapore attempts to reinvent itself as the city state emerges from its worst recession in four decades.

The rally to be held at noon on May 1, just beyond the gates of the president's office known as the Istana, has been dubbed the "PAP" or "People Against Poverty" rally -- a pun on the well-known acronym for the ruling People's Action Party.

A photo exhibition of homeless people, stories of families struggling to make ends meet and props such as a life-sized effigy of a worker hanging on a noose will be on display.

Chee is a free speech proponent and former university lecturer who is currently battling a defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. He will speak at the event along with a fellow SDP colleague.

Political rallies are rare in Singapore and event organisers have to seek permission from the police beforehand. Chee said his group was applying for a permit to stage the exhibition and rally but planned to proceed even without a nod from authorities.

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