Fong Swee Suan
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Fong Swee Suan (方水双 Fāng Shuǐshuāng; 27 October 1931 – 4 February 2017) was a trade unionist, founding member of the
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
(PAP) and a
Barisan Sosialis Barisan Sosialis (BS), also known as the Socialist Front, is a defunct left-wing political party in Singapore. It was formed on 29 July 1961 and was officially registered on 13 August 1961 by the leftist faction of the People's Action Party (PA ...
leader.


Early life and education

Fong was born in Senggarang, Johor, Malaysia on 27 October 1931. He was the third child of seven children of his laundry man father and farmer mother. He studied at Zhong Hua Primary School, and later attended the Hua Qiao Secondary School in the town of
Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geograph ...
. He arrived in Singapore in 1950 to study at The Chinese High School, where he first met
Lim Chin Siong Lim Chin Siong (; 28 February 1933 – 5 February 1996) was a Singaporean politician and union leader active in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the founders of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the ...
. Fong opposed the introduction of the Junior Middle III examination, and was among 108 students who boycotted the examination. Due to this, he was expelled from the school. Following this, he applied to study at the Chinese teacher’s training college but was rejected due to his involvement in the boycott, and instead attended a private English School.


Career

Fong became a ticket seller for the Green Bus Company in 1952. While working at the company, he joined the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union, and was later elected the union's secretary general in 1953.


Political career

In 1954, Fong was introduced to
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...
via the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students' Union and later formed the People's Action Party with Lee and other trade unionists, lawyers and journalists on 21 November 1954. Fong became a member of PAP's first Central Executive Committee. In the same year, he and Lim founded the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers' Union. In 1955, Fong led a SBWU strike against Hock Lee Bus Company to improve working conditions and as a protest against unfair treatment against union members. The strike eventually led to the Hock Lee bus riots which Fong was accused of causing of the riots. He was later arrested and detained for 45 days for his involvement. Fong would later denied causing the riots years later. On 24 October 1956, Fong was arrested again for alleged involvement in the
Chinese Middle School Student Riots The Chinese middle school student riots were a series of riots in Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, ...
and was detained with other union leaders on
Saint John's Island Saint John's Island ( ), also known as St John's, is an island in the Straits of Singapore located 6.5 km off the southern coast of Singapore. With an area of , it is the largest of the Sisters' Islands Marine Park, Marine Park islands wh ...
. Fong was released in 1959 when the PAP won the
1959 Singaporean general election The 1959 Singaporean general election was held on 30 May 1959 to elect all 51 seats to the Legislative Assembly of Singapore. It was the first general election after Singapore was granted full internal self-government from Britain, excluding m ...
in a landslide victory. He was subsequently appointed political secretary to the Minister of Labour and Law. On 14 July 1961, Lee, who became the
Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore, is the head of government of Singapore. The President of Singapore, president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent prime minister is Lawrence Wong, ...
, asked Fong and two other political secretaries to resign from their posts due to a joint statement between them and other union leaders calling to abolish the Internal Security Council and for full self-government. Fong left PAP and became the secretary-general of the newly formed Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU) in August. In the same month, Fong joined Barisan Sosialis as its party secretary. On 2 February 1963, Fong was arrested during Operation Coldstore and then later sent to Malaysia for detention. He was released from detention on 26 August 1967.


Personal life

Fong and his wife, Chen Poh Cheng, were childhood friends and married in 1960. They have two sons and a daughter. His son, Otto Fong, is a comic artist, playwright and teacher. After released from his detention in Malaysia, Fong remained in Malaysia as he was banned from entering Singapore. His ban was lifted in December 1990 and only returned to Singapore in 1998 as a Singapore permanent resident. Fong suffered from
liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...
and died on 4 February 2017 at his home; he was 85 years old at the time of his passing.
Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...
, prime minister of Singapore, son of Lee Kuan Yew, sent his condolences to Chen on Fong's death. Three years after Fong died, his widow Chen Poh Cheng died from a suicide attempt on 6 December 2020. She was 84 years of age at the time of her death.{{Cite web , title=新国前左翼政治人物方水双遗孀逝世, url=https://www.orientaldaily.com.my/news/international/2021/03/06/396792 , date=6 March 2021 , website=Oriental Daily , language=zh


References

1931 births 2017 deaths Singaporean communists People's Action Party politicians Prisoners and detainees of Singapore Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Singaporean prisoners and detainees Barisan Sosialis politicians Hwa Chong Institution alumni Singaporean trade unionists