COURTING THE OPPOSITION

Singapore's two former prime ministers, Lee Kwan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, were in court yesterday seeking US$500,000 in damages for alleged defamation by opposition politician Chee Soon Juan.

The charges relate to accusations made by Chee during the 2001 election campaign over a loan facility made available to Jakarta during the Asian 1997/98 economic crisis. The government, to my knowledge, has never lost a libel or defamation suit, so a decision against Chee can probably be expected.

Fines in these cases are also usually quite hefty - which is why both Bloomberg News and the Economist settled quickly, and without much argument, when libel charges were filed against them.

The Straits Times has coverage of the matter here.

The website of Chee's opposition party is here.

Meanwhile, across the Straits today, the Malaysian Federal Court agreed to hear an appeal of Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for corruption. Should they decide to quash the conviction, the former deputy PM would be able to immediately return to electoral politics.

Anwar, as I have noted and as Rajan has argued far more conclusively, was not a saint. So a quick return to politics may not necessarily be a good thing. Still, for the sake of democratic development, it's still nice to see that he'll get a (hopefully) fair hearing.