The Straits Times, July 17, 1997 BY Ho Wah Foon FORMER communist leader Fang Chung Pi, whom Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew nicknamed the "Plen" (from plenipotentiary), has urged Singapore's Government to let former insurgents return, according to a newspaper report yesterday. The 71-year-old Fang made this call in an exclusive interview given to Mr Lee Soo Puang, editor of Chinese newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau, and Mr Kua Kim Teck, senior feature writer for the paper. Fang Chuang Pi Pic/ Nanyang Siang Pau Mr Fang, who was Singapore leader of the defunct Malayan Communist Party, had urged Singapore "to follow the spirit of the Haadyai Peace Accord". The accord, signed on Dec 2, 1989, in Haadyai between the Thai and Malaysian governments, and the MCP, allowed the safe return of 1,200 MCP leaders and members to Malaysia and Thailand to lead a normal life. The accord brought to an end MCP's jungle-based armed struggle, which lasted for more than three decades. It lets former insurgents participate in economic development and, eventually, local politics. About 400 of them have chosen to settle in Thailand while 800 have returned to Malaysia. Although Singapore was not a signatory to the accord, Mr Fang said he hoped it would let more than 20 former MCP members return to lead a normal life. The Singapore-born fugitives are now residing in the "Peace Village", a settlement on the Thai-Malaysia border catering to former MCP members. It is more than five hours' drive from Haadyai, where the interview took place. Mr Fang said that although the Home Ministry allowed him to return to Singapore, he had chosen not to return now because of "disagreements in conditions", which Mr Kua interpreted as "conditions being too stringent". He added that he had met the Senior Minister on Aug 23, 1995, in Beijing to discuss the return of the Singaporeans, but there was no consensus on the matter. "I pointed out to Lee Kuan Yew that he and I shared the same duty and obligation to help the return of these comrades, whether we looked at it from the historical, political or moral perspective. "I was hoping he would respect the spirit of the Haadyai accord and settle this problem in a fair and amicable manner. But, unfortunately, we failed to reach a consensus about what was duty and what was obligation," Mr Fang was quoted as saying in the Nanyang report. But despite the differences during the Beijing meeting, Mr Lee told Mr Fang he could return to visit relatives. Mr Fang said that apart from talking to him about the plight of more than 20 Singaporeans, he had wanted to use the Beijing meeting to "reconcile with Lee Kuan Yew". Mr Fang, described by Mr Lee in the '50s as "an able and determined person", first met him in March 1958, when the latter was the secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP). The two had held several meetings to discuss a united MCP and PAP anti-colonial front, as well as the prospects of a Malaya-Singapore merger, according to writer James Minchin in his book, No Man Is An Island. Mr Fang, who then represented the MCP's top leadership purportedly, had also told Nanyang Siang Pau of his dealings with Mr Lee. These are to be published today, according to Mr Kua. Next: The Plen hopes to solve CPM issue while SM is around Previous Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.