Singapore bars opposition politician from leaving
A Singapore opposition party leader on Wednesday denounced the government for rejecting his application to leave the country to address a human rights forum in Norway. Chee Soon Juan, 51, of the Singapore Democratic Party, needs official permission to travel overseas after he was declared bankrupt for failing to pay libel damages a court awarded the city-state's former leaders six years ago. Chee's request to be allowed to travel to Norway in May to speak at a forum organised by the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) was denied because he is behind on payments needed to lift him out of bankruptcy. "We regret to inform you that your application for the Official Assignee's permission to leave Singapore between 6 May 2012 and 10 May 2012 is not approved," said a government letter to Chee which was seen by AFP. "We note that you have made no contribution to your bankruptcy estate to date and that you have also not made any proposal for an instalment payment plan for the benefit of your creditors," it stated. Chee's creditors are former prime ministers Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, who in 2006 successfully sued him for defamation and were awarded Sg$300,000 ($241,000) and Sg$200,000 in damages respectively. Chee, a psychologist and former university lecturer who is secretary-general of his party but does not hold a permanent job, said his travel ban would do the People's Action Party (PAP) government "more harm than good". "I'm used to rules and regulations in Singapore introduced, changed and manipulated just to prevent democracy advocates from doing our work effectively," he told AFP. "The thing the PAP doesn't understand is that the more repressive measures they take, the more society will push back," Chee said, adding that he had made more than 30 travel applications in the past, all of which had been rejected. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, forum organiser HRF urged the government to "reconsider its travel ban" on Chee "in the spirit of human rights". HRF said overseas travel restrictions on bankrupts "may be legitimate" but in Chee's case, it may be "aimed at further curtailing the freedom of expression of an opposition leader". The latest travel ban on Chee comes amid growing political openness in Singapore since the May 2011 general elections in which the PAP, in power since 1959, retained its dominance but saw its share of all votes cast fall to an all-time low of 60 percent.
