Pretensions was greatly saddened to hear last Tuesday of the death of Mr JB Jeyaratnam, one of Singapore's most well-known opposition MPs and former secretary of the Workers Party. JBJ, as he was popularly known, had suffered from heart problems and died of heart failure at the age of 82.

JBJ was best-remembered as a true man of the people and one that stuck to his principles. He was the first opposition MP to be elected to Singapore's parliament in 1981, breaking the monopoly of the ruling People's Action Party. There he acted as an advocate for the working-class, engaging in numerous fiery debates with then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. His vocal opposition to the PAP resulted in a spate of crippling (and very expensive) defamation suits from senior PAP members.

This culminated in him being declared a bankrupt in 2001 and barred from practicing law (he was a trained lawyer). As a bankrupt, he was also prevented from taking part in future General Elections. This year, JBJ was finally discharged as a bankrupt and had just formed a new political party, the Reform Party, in July.

Pretensions has always admired JBJ's courage in the face of adversity. He was the first politician to stand in open opposition to the ruling party. Even when he was declared a bankrupt, he continued to peddle his book (outlining his platform) at train stations. JBJ's arguments also made sense, unlike some opposition politicians, who came across as all sound and fury and no content.

The funeral was held on Saturday 4th October at Saint Andrews Cathedral. Sadly P had a prearranged meeting on that day, but she understands that more than 1000 people attended. Singapore News Alternative has lots of links to excellent coverage of the funeral, including videos of the service from the online citizen (which had mysteriously gone down when P tried to access it).

Amnesty International on Saturday described him as "an unflinching campaigner for the rule of law - and for the whole spectrum of human rights." and P believes that is how he would like to be remembered.