The
Sunday Times, July 20, 1997
SINGAPORE is a "freak", because it is
lacking in terms of geopolitics, economics, size, population and
culture, said former communist leader Fang Chuang Pi, dubbed
the "Plen"
by Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
He added
that, in his assessment, the country had "narrow room for manoeuvre
in various areas and will run into difficulties in
future".
He gave
this assessment of Singapore as an unnatural country, a freak of
history, in an interview with Malaysia's Chinese-language
newspaper, Nanyang Siang Pau, in which he disclosed that he had
discussed the Republic's prospects with the Senior Minister when
they met in Beijing in August 1995.
Mr
Fang and his wife at the interview in
Thailand. Pic/ Nanyang Siang Pau
He told Mr Lee: "I said that
Singapore was a 'freak', but a 'freak' was often a genius, and most
geniuses died young. For in terms of geopolitics, economics, size
and population, Singapore is congenitally
deficient."
The two
men also discussed the issue of culture, he added.
"I said that using a certain language
to create a culture, the culture created can at best be a
commercial culture, or technology culture, or we may call it pasar
culture. It has no roots, and identifies itself with a certain
material interest. It is the product of
expediency.
"It is like duckweed, floating at the
harbour. When it absorbs fertilisers, it will flourish very
quickly. But once it rains and floods set in, it will perish," he
said in an interview conducted in a restaurant in Haadyai, near the
Thai-Malaysian border.
Mr Fang,
71, was a powerful linkman for the now-defunct Malayan Communist
Party (MCP) in the 1950s and 1960s. He held several secret meetings
with Mr Lee, one of which led to the cooperation between the MCP
and the People's Action Party (PAP) in fighting against British
colonialism.
He became
a legendary figure for his ability to "disappear" and avoid arrest
and was reported to have left Singapore in 1961 for Indonesia, from
where he directed the MCP's underground activities.
He and
more than 20 Singaporeans who were ex-MCP members now live in
Thailand, following a peace accord signed in 1989 by the MCP, and
Thai and Malaysian governments.
Nanyang's
editor Lee Soo Puang and senior feature writer Kua Kim Teck, who
interviewed him, described him as "no longer the mystery
underground man or the guerilla fighter", noting that he had worn a
long-sleeved shirt and long pants, and carried a
handbag.
"His
simple attire made him look like a retiree," said the interviewers,
adding that "his mind remains alert and he is also
sharp-tongued".
In the
wide-ranging interview, Mr Fang acknowledged the economic progress
that Singapore had made over the past three decades under Mr Lee
and his People's Action Party.
The
country was "economically advanced", he noted, adding that it might
not have achieved this progress if the leftist forces had taken
control in the 1950s and 1960s.
"If we
look at the experiences of communist countries, Singapore could be
chaotic and its economy very bad today.
"But I
will dispute this statement: If there was no Lee Kuan Yew,
Singapore would sink. This was only a possibility.
"Singapore
now is economically advanced, but politically backward ... If they
(Mr Lee and PAP) were not there to rule, Singapore's politics could
be very active and vibrant," he said in the interview, published in
several parts over the past week in the Malaysian
newspaper.
Asked
about the merger between Malaysia and Singapore in 1963, he said
that the issue had created a "serious sense of distrust" between
him and Mr Lee because it was raised suddenly. All along, he had
believed the merger was "merely an objective, not an item on the
agenda", he said.
He added
that Mr Lee had explained when they met in 1995 that he had not
lied or misled him intentionally. But when the Tengku agreed to
cooperate suddenly, he decided to go ahead with the plan for a
merger.
Asked what
he thought of a merger now, he said: "I think Singapore and
Malaysia must merge.
"It was an
illegitimate split. The brief period of merger during 1963 showed
that conditions were not conducive then.
"Thirty
years have passed and both Singapore and Malaysia have since
developed in their own directions. It looks like the separation is
final.
"But more
people will begin to realise that a merger will benefit both
countries as well as their people. If both sides are separated,
both parties are being weakened."
*
On the Republic:
"Singapore
was a 'freak', but a 'freak' was often a genius, and most geniuses
died young. For in terms of geopolitics, economics, size and
population, Singapore is congenitally deficient ... I think that
Singapore has narrow room for manoeuvre in various areas and will
run into difficulties in the future."
*
On progress made by Mr Lee and the PAP:
"If we
look at the experiences of communist countries, Singapore could be
chaotic and its economy very bad today. But I will dispute this
statement: if there was no Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore would
sink."
*
On merger with Malaysia:
"But more
people will begin to realise that a merger will benefit both
countries as well as their people. If both sides are separated,
both parties are being weakened."
http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/plen3.html
