The New Paper, Aug 12, 1997 Mr Fang Chuang Pi, 71, was a powerful communist underground leader in the '50s and '60s. In a recent interview, he called Singapore a "freak". ALETHEA LIM speaks to someone who knew him HE seemed an innocent-looking court reporter on the rare occasions when he sat opposite police prosecutors in court during the 1950s. Little did they know that the smiling Mr Fang Chuang Pi was really a Singapore leader of the now-defunct Communist Party of Malaya. The Reds, as the Communists were known, could stir up trouble in trade unions and Chinese schools in those days. Mr Fang himself became a legend for his ability to "disappear" and avoid arrest. One person who remembers him well was fellow court reporter Philip Goh of the now defunct Malaya Tribune. Said Mr Goh: "It's quite an irony that on the days Mr Fang attended court trials and sat across the police prosecutors in court, they never knew who he really was." Mr Fang then worked for the Chinese newspaper, Nan Chiau Jit Pao. Added Mr Goh, who is in his 60s: "Mr Fang would only appear now and then. Just like a phantom, but not in a sinister kind of way. "He came to court on his motorcycle, usually at lunchtime, to borrow our court notes. "He would very rarely attend the court sessions. Once he copied the notes, he would disappear." For over a year, Mr Goh said, he and five colleagues lent Mr Fang their notes because he was always "pleasant". "Most of us weren't anxious to scoop each other, so we were willing to help him." Mr Fang's communist activities were unknown to the reporters in the then Lower Courts in South Bridge Road. "It never occurred to us that he was involved in the political activities. To us, he was just a busy young man working for a leftist newspaper," said Mr Goh. But when Mr Fang disappeared in the '50s, they put two and two together. "We then guessed he was connected with the communists. When he no longer showed up in court to ask for notes, we knew he had disappeared." MR Fang was dubbed the "Plen" by Mr Lee Kuan Yew. It's short for plenipotentiary, or a representative of a ruler with powers to act for the ruler. As a representative of the Communist Party of Malaya, Mr Fang met Mr Lee four times before the 1959 election that gave Singapore internal self-government. Mr Fang, who now lives in Thailand, gave an interview to the Malaysian Nanyang Siang Pau recently. In the interview, he called Singapore a "freak", lacking in terms of geopolitics, economics, size, population and culture. Mr Fang spoke of his wish to settle in Singapore. He said although he was allowed to return, he had chosen not to because of "disagreements in conditions". In reply, Mr Lee's press secretary said in a letter published in Lianhe Zaobao: "There is no point arguing about his return to Singapore, which he has described as a freak that will die young." Next: 'Freak country' comment was 'just an analogy' Previous Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.