Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (born 1926; more commonly known as J.B. Jeyaretnam or JBJ) is Singapore's first ever opposition party candidate to become Member of Parliament (MP) in its first 16 years of independence. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Philip Jeyaretnam, son of veteran opposition politician J._B._Jeyaretnam (JBJ), graduated from Cambridge University in 1986 with First-Class Honours in Law. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ...

He is currently forming a new political party to challenge the ruling party, People Action Party.[1][2][3][4]

Background and Political career

A Christian of Sri Lankan Tamil decent, Jeyaratnam attended St. Andrew's School and University College London, gaining a Bachelor of Laws. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... see Sri Lankan Tamils ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is a college of the University of London. ...

Jeyaretnam was the leader of the Workers' Party of Singapore, challenging the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which had effectively ruled Singapore as a one-party state. Workers Party logo The Workers Party of Singapore (abbrev: WP; Chinese: 新加坡工人党) is one of the largest opposition parties in Singapore, with 1 of the 84 elected seats in the current session of Parliament of Singapore. ... Party logo with a symbol of red lightning that signifies action. ... A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ...

Representing the Workers' Party, Jeyaretnam defeated the People's Action Party's Pang Kim Him in the 1981 Anson by-election with 51.9% to 47.1% of the vote to become Singapore's first opposition MP. He was again re-elected to the same seat in 1984 as one of only two opposition politicians to win in that election. Party logo with a symbol of red lightning that signifies action. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Anson may refer to: Several places in the United States: Anson, Maine. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ...

Later, however, Jeyaretnam was brought down by a series of politically-motivated charges and fines in a successful effort to disbar him and prevent him from taking part in future elections. Two months after his 1984 re-election, he was charged for allegedly mis-stating his party accounts.

In 1986, a district court found him innocent of all charges but one; the prosecution appealed and the Chief Justice ordered a retrial in a district court. At the retrial, Jeyaretnam was declared guilty on all charges. The judge sentenced him to three months' imprisonment (later commuted to one month), and fined him SGD$5,000, sufficient to disqualify him from standing for election for a period of five years. He was also disbarred. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ... The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth- or other countries with an Anglosaxon type of justice, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, the Supreme...

Appeal to the Privy Council

Since the trial had been held in a district court, and not the High Court, Jeyaretnam was able to appeal his disbarment to only Britain's Privy Council. The Council duly reversed the judgment. This was what the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had to say on this episode when they delivered their judgment, allowing Jeyaretnam's appeal against being struck off from the roll of Singapore lawyers: This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. ... A lawyer, according to Blacks Law Dictionary, is a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law. ...

"Their Lordships have to record their deep disquiet that by a series of misjudgements, the appellant and his co-accused Wong, have suffered a grievous injustice. They have been fined, imprisoned and publicly disgraced for offences of which they are not guilty. The appellant, in addition, has been deprived of his seat in Parliament and disqualified for a year from practising his profession. Their Lordships order restores him to the roll of advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of Singapore, but, because of the course taken by the criminal proceedings, their Lordships have no power to right the other wrongs which the appellant and Wong have suffered. Their only prospect of redress, their Lordships understand, will be by way of petition for pardon to the President of the Republic of Singapore." [5]

The right of appeal to the Privy Council was severely restricted by a change in the law the following year. In law, an appellant is the party who after eating a vagina, having lost their claim in a lower court decision, is appealing to a higher court to have their case reconsidered. ... The unicameral Parliament of Singapore is the legislature of Singapore with the President as its head [1]. It currently consists of 94 Members of Parliament. ... An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another, especially in a legal context. ... A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but not the United States (in the United States the word has a quite different meaning—see below). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... More uses for the word redress can be seen athttp://en. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Flag of the President of Singapore Presidential Crest The President of Singapore is the head of state, being elected by universal suffrage since 1993. ...

Disqualification

Following the decision of the Privy Council, Jeyaretnam then wrote to the President to ask that the convictions be removed as a result of the Privy Council's decision. The President, on the advice of the cabinet, refused to remove the convictions and Jeyaretnam remained disqualified until 1991 . Singapore judges also refused to reverse his convictions or reverse the fine, which prevented him from standing for office until 1997 .

In the 1988 election, Jeyaretnam was barred from contesting due to his 5-year disqualification. However, he did attend election rallies to help out his fellow party members. At an election rally, he challenged the PAP's claim to being an open and transparent government, and asked whether any investigation had been conducted as to how the Minister for National Development, Teh Cheang Wan, had obtained the tablets with which he had committed suicide, in the midst of being investigated for corruption. Jeyaretnam also asked whether the then Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, had replied to a letter written to him by Teh. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore (and prior to 9 August 1965, the State of Singapore). ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is 李 (Li) Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born September 16, 1923; also spelled Lee Kwan-Yew), was the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ...

Further defamation suits

After the elections, Lee commenced proceedings against Jeyaretnam, alleging that the latter had slandered him as his words at the election rally were understood to mean that Lee had committed a criminal offence by aiding and abetting Teh to commit suicide, and thereby, had covered up on corruption. The action was heard by Justice Lai Kew Chai who found a case against Jeyaretnam and ordered him to pay Lee, damages of SGD$260,000, together with interest on the amount and costs. In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... for other uses please see Crime (disambiguation) A crime is an act that violates a political or moral law. ...

Jeyaretnam lost the appeal against that judgement. He had wanted to appeal to the Privy Council, but to do that, he had to obtain Lee's consent before the hearing by the Court of Appeal. This was because the law relating to appeals to the Privy Council had been changed after the Privy Council's judgement restoring Jeyaretnam to the roll of advocates and solicitors. Appeals to the Privy Council by lawyers from any order made by a court of three judges under the Legal Profession Act were abolished. In criminal cases, an appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeal to the Privy Council was also abolished. In civil cases, an appeal is allowed only if the other party consented to it. Lee did not give his consent. Court of Appeals is the title of certain appellate courts in various jurisdictions. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ...

In 1995, Jeyaretnam authored an article in The Hammer, the Workers' Party newspaper, that alleged that a number of those involved in an event called the 'Tamil Language Week' were government "stooges". For this, he was sued twice for libel, resulting in total damages of SGD$465,000 and SGD$250,000 in court costs. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Thomas Dale Tom DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is an American Republican politician from Sugar Land, Texas and current Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

In 1997, Jeyaretnam was selected as a non-constituency MP. After the election, eleven defamation suits were filed against him for saying the following words in one of the election rallies: "Mr Tang Liang Hong has just placed before me, two reports he has made to the police against, you know, Mr Goh Chok Tong and his people". Goh Chok Tong alleged that his "reputation, moral authority and leadership standing have been gravely injured both local and internationally", and during cross-examination by Jeyaretnam's counsel George Carman Q.C., likened the statement to throwing a Molotov cocktail. However, on further questioning, Goh also stated that "it has been a good year" for him and his standing as a leader had not been injured.^[1] Trial judge Rajendran J found Jeyaretnam liable and ordered him to pay "derisory" damages of SGD$20,000. However, upon the plaintiff's appeal, the damages were raised to SGD$100,000 plus SGD$20,000 in court costs. Rajendran was later dismissed from the bench. Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) are members of the opposition parties who were appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Tang Liang Hong (Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a senior lawyer and politician from Singapore. ... Goh Chok Tong (Chinese: 吴作栋; (Simp. ... Goh Chok Tong (Chinese: 吴作栋; (Simp. ... Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ...

Bankruptcy

In 2001, after his damages installment was overdue by one day, Jeyaretnam was declared bankrupt, disbarred and prevented from taking part in the elections that year. He resigned from the leadership of the Workers' Party in October 2001, and subsisted by hawking on the street, copies of his book, entitled Make it Right for Singapore, which mainly contains his parliamentary speeches between 1997 and 2000 . He also authored another book, entitled, The Hachet Man of Singapore, in which it depicts his trials in court over the statement he made during an election rally in a stadium (see above). Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...

Documentary on J.B. Jeyaratnam

On January 4, 2002, a documentary on Jeyaretnam, entitled A Vision of Persistence, which showed Jeyaretnam, a former MP and erstwhile leader of the opposition Workers' Party, selling his books in public places and meeting with his supporters, was withdrawn from the Singapore International Film Festival on fears that it could have violated a law banning political films. The makers of the 15-minute documentary had submitted written apologies and withdrew it from being screened after they were told that they could be charged in court. The film-makers, all lecturers at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, had claimed that they had just chanced upon a man selling books on a street and decided to make a documentary on him, unaware at first that he was an opposition figure. January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... The Singapore International Film Festival (Siff) is an annual event first held in 1987. ... Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Chinese: 义安理工学院), the second oldest of five polytechnics in Singapore, was founded in 1963 as Ngee Ann College. ...

A little-known law, called the 'Films Act' [6], bans the making, distribution and showing of films containing "wholly or partly, either partisan or biased references to, or comments on any political matter." The source, which was not named, said a government official went to the school and asked: "How can your staff do this sort of thing?" A person familiar with the case told the newspaper: "It's a sort of paranoia on the part of the authorities." For other senses of this word, see paranoia (disambiguation). ...

Philip Cheah, the director of the film festival, said that he saw the documentary, but declined to comment on its contents. "It should have been shown at the festival. Then people can decide," he said, adding that, as far as he knows, this was the first film that was considered political under the Films Act.

Appeal for early discharge from bankruptcy

On October 25, 2004, Jeyaretnam appealed for an early discharge from bankruptcy so that he could contest in the coming election that year. He appeared before a three-judge Court of Appeal, Singapore's highest Court, asking to be discharged. The official assignee, however, opposed the appeal, claiming that Jeyaretnam had lied about his assets. Representing himself during the two-hour hearing, Jeyaretnam appealed on the grounds that he wanted another chance to contribute to society. He offered to pay one-third of the more than SGD$600,000 he still owed his claimants. Thus far, Jeyaretnam had paid up less than SGD$30,000. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sarjit Singh, the official assignee, opposed Jeyaretnam's appeal, claiming that he was "the most dishonest bankrupt I have ever come across". He said this because Jeyaretnam had not declared a property he had bought in Johor Bahru, worth more than SGD$350,000. At the same time, Davinder Singh, the legal counsel acting on behalf of eight of the claimants, argued that this case threw up issues far wider than just Jeyaretnam's appeal. He said that if Jeyaretnam was discharged as a bankrupt, it could set a dangerous precedent and the courts could be flooded with similar appeals from bankrupts seeking early discharge. Precedent is the principle in law of using the past in order to assist in current interpretation and decision-making. ...

On March 7 2006, Jeyaratnam announces that he is making a last-minute bid to get out of bankruptcy in time for a shot at the upcoming polls. He has applied to pay off all his debts, totalling about $600,000, to wipe his slate clean. A court hearing is set for March 20 2006. He told The Straits Times he has enough money finally to settle the debts, which arose from defamation suits in 1996 and 1997. The Straits Times is an English-language broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore, currently owned by the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). ...

References

External links

• Personal website
• Blog
• Jeyaretnam's trials and tribulations
• Review of 'Lee's Law: How Singapore crushes dissent'
• Amnesty International- background of defamation cases