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." Next: The Plen: What S'pore would have become Previous Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.