A long-time foe of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), Jeyaretnam said the police refusal to grant him a permit to hold the anti-GST hike next month was politically motivated.

"It's not the police who have refused the permission. They can deny it but it's the PAP who have refused the permission," the 76-year-old former chief of the opposition Workers' Party said at a media conference.

"So it's a political decision.... nothing to do with fear of any threats," he said.

"It's a political decision because it was considered a threat to the PAP rather than to the security to the country. That is very clear to me."

Earlier this month, Jeyaretnam announced he intends to apply for permission from the authorities to hold a protest march on January 5, the same day as his 77th birthday, against the GST hike which will take effect starting 2003.

Protests of any kind are rare in Singapore but the island's first legally sanctioned demonstration was held last year when a civil rights group staged a fund-raising rally to help Jeyaretnam pay his debts.

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