LAWSUITS by two of Singapore's top leaders against leaders of an opposition party ahead of May 6 elections recalls what critics call a ruling party tactic to weaken or sideline its opponents.

Singapore's leaders say they only file such suits to protect their reputations.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, are suing an opposition party's leaders for allegedly defaming them, M. Ravi, a lawyer for the opposition party, said Thursday, Apr 27.

Lee Kuan Yew still carries considerable political clout under the title of Minister Mentor.

Lawyers for the Lees - the city-state's two top leaders - issued legal notices Wednesday to the opposition Singapore Democratic Party's Secretary General Chee Soon Juan and seven other leaders of his party, Ravi said.

"Within another 21 days, they (the SDP members) will file their defenses in court," Ravi said.

The lawsuits come ahead of May 6 national elections, in which the PAP, which has ruled Singapore since its independence from Britain and then Malaysia in the 1960s, is expected to easily win the vast majority of legislative seats.

Singapore's minuscule, straggling opposition has just two elected seats in the 84-member Parliament.

Domestic and international critics - including the US State Department and London-based rights group Amnesty International - have accused Singapore's rulers of using defamation lawsuits to stifle opponents. PAP leaders deny the accusations.

The SDP newsletter published the allegedly defamatory articles, which the lawsuits say linked a scandal at the National Kidney Foundation, Singapore's largest charity, to PAP governance.

Chee said Wednesday he would contest any such legal action because he believes his party was only making a legitimate call for transparency.

"This is nothing but intimidation," Chee said. "We should fight, and fight it all the way. If we cannot call for accountability, then why exist as an opposition party?"

Prime Minister Lee had recently said the opposition newsletter could harm the government's reputation ahead of the election.

"We have to act because they are alleging corruption," Lee said. "If we do not act, and the lies and defamation are repeated throughout and in election rallies and spread around, I think the government's reputation goes down."

Chee was declared bankrupt after failing to pay S$500,000 (US$303,000; €246,000) in damages to then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and the elder Lee for defaming them during 2001 elections.

The bankruptcy and previous fines - for speaking in public without a permit - make Chee ineligible to run for office.

Political observers said the latest legal action is no surprise.

The PAP "will not have this played out at election rallies, not in the way that the (SDP) would have it," said Gillian Koh, a researcher the Institute of Policy Studies, a Singapore-based research center. "It's a reminder that the incumbent is on the lookout for such allegations, and so the opposition must manage their campaigns very carefully.

"The rest of us are wondering," she said. "Does that make the discussion of the National Kidney Foundation ... out of bounds for us as well?"

Prime Minister Lee recently said the government wants election issues raised for discussion.

"But this has to be discussion based on facts," he said. "If you say something, you answer for it."

"Allegations that are standard in the political rhetoric of other nations can get a politician sued in Singapore," said Mark Cenite, an American media law expert in Singapore.

Opposition leader Joshua B. Jeyaretnam lost his parliamentary seat in 2001 after missing a single payment from a S$500,000 libel lawsuit filed by PAP members in 1995 - and still owes a portion of the court-awarded damages.

"They say they've got to protect their reputation, but I'm saying that in many other countries this is all part of the game," Jeyaretnam said. "You've got to be able to take it and reply to it."

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