Amid speculation that polls will be held next year, the 79-year-old longtime foe of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) said in a statement that "I have never received justice" during a long political career.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a decision denying the former MP's application to be discharged from bankruptcy. Under Singapore law, bankrupt persons cannot run for public office.

"I am very disappointed with the judgment, not because I have lost, but because the court has failed to give me any consideration," Jeyaretnam said.

Jeyaretnam was legally declared bankrupt in 2001 after failing to continue making payments on debts, largely resulting from damages awarded to leaders of the PAP who sued him for defamation.

His liabilities are estimated at more than S$600,000 (US$365,000).

The former secretary-general of the Workers' Party has been one of the few politicians to successfully stand up to the PAP, which has scored overwhelming victories in every election since 1959, when self-rule was introduced in the then British colony.

In 1981, he became the first opposition politician to win a seat in parliament but the PAP's defamation suits eventually crushed his career.

Human rights groups have criticised the Singapore government for using libel laws as a tool to silence critics such as Jeyaretnam, but the city-state's rulers argue they need to take legal action to protect their reputations.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, son of former leader Lee Kuan Yew, took over after Goh Chok Tong stepped down last August, and is now believed to be planning a general election to secure his own mandate.

Goh and the elder Lee remain in the cabinet as the chief advisers of the new prime minister.

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