Premier Lee Hsien Loong told a gathering of Asia-Pacific business leaders here that Singapore accepted media criticism but would not allow itself to be influenced by outside pressure.

"We are actually very open to the international media. This is a traditional misconception," Lee said, responding to a delegate's question on the tension between its liberal economy and its media "wariness".

Lee said the presence of a number of international media organisations in Singapore was proof of the country's openness. Seventy-two foreign media organisations are hosted in the city state, according to the government.

"So we are completely open. But because we are open, we are also vulnerable and we have to be careful lest our internal, the Singaporean situation, gets influenced or controlled by groups outside of Singapore," he said.

Lee said the international media was free to write on Singapore but spelt out its long-held position that it demanded the right of reply on reports deemed unfair.

"If you comment on Singapore in a way which we consider unfair, we won't stop you, we will just ask to give us the right of reply," he said.

Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders in October ranked Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest society, 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Press Freedom Index, alongside Azerbaijan (141), Bhutan (142), Egypt (143) and Syria (145).

RSF attibuted Singapore's ranking to the absence of independent newspapers as well as radio and TV stations, the application of prison sentences for press offences and self-censorship by journalists.

Singapore's leaders have also been criticised for suing political opponents for defamation and taking legal action against foreign publications for allegedly damaging their reputations.

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