Group 3- Fong Swee Suan

A hero is someone who stands out from other people and contributed something great that benefits the society. He is admired by many, due to his noble achievements and distinct qualities. His name will be remembered in the history. This person is none other than FONG SWEE SUAN.

Fong Swee Suan (born 1931, age 78 was a trade unionist who played a major role in the trade union movement and the anticolonial struggle in Singapore, earning him the enmity of the British colonial regime and its supporters from the 1950s to the 1960s era. As Secretary-General of the Singapore Bus Workers Union, he became involved in the Hock Lee Bus Riots in 1955, where workers demanded better working conditions. He was among those arrested under Operation Coldstore in February 1963. .
In May 1955, Fong initiated and led the Hock Lee Bus Riot. The services of bus transport were severely disrupted paralyzed as buses were prevented from leaving as the strikers formed human barriers by sitting on the ground. It was on the 23rd of April when the workers of the Hock Lee Amalgated bus Co, who were members of the pro-communist Singapore Bus Workers’ Union [SBWU] went on strike.
On 11th June 1955, he was arrested with the rest of the leaders who lead in the riot. They were accused to have started the main strike. They were in detention for a total of 15 days. Many people objected and were then released.
In 21st September 1956, he was appointed as the vice-chairman of the Association of Workers’ Singapore Industry. This Association was set up on the 22nd May 1954. in 21st September 1956, he led a seven member representative group to see a minister, Lim Yew Hock, to discuss about the matter where the chairman of the Industry Association, Lim Zhen Guo, was arrested.
On the 18th June 1960, Wang Yong Yuan challenged to be a leader of a party. So Fong Swee Suan, together with other communist parties, supported the Central party. After Fong Swee Suan criticized the manpower policy in PAP, he was transferred to become a politic secretary of the deputy prime minister’s office.
July 1961, he objected to the idea of merger with Malaya. He broke off from PAP because of this1 objection. September 1961, he was appointed as the Singapore Socialism. At the same time, he was also the advisor of many other parties.
On 2nd Februry 1963, he was arrested for the third time. On 25th August 1967, he was released before the 10th anniversary of Malaya’s independence. In 1968, he became the Administrative Assistant of the Kuala Lumpur central sugar factory.
On 1970, he moved to Johor and became a branch manager of De Cheng Machinery Pte Ltd. On 1976, he set up You Lian Machinery Pte Ltd. The business involved heavy machinery and estate investments. On 1991, he got his Bachelor of Arts from Kensington University.
On 12th May 1955, later known as "Black Thursday", a major riot broke out in the streets of Alexandra Road and Tiong Bahru. The police tried to break up the 2,000 students and strikers using water cannon and tear gas, but the crowd retaliated by stoning the policemen and buses. In total, two police officers, a student and an American press correspondent, died and many more were seriously injured.

In conclusion, Fong Swee Suan is indeed a great hero that we respect. He broke off with PAP due to just one objection and decided to join the opposition. We think that he has his own strong opinion and he does everything without anybody's persuasion. We hope that more of these people like him will be able to contribute to the society.

Group members: Lauw Wei Zhong (27)

Lee Zong Han (29)

Wang Hoong Wei (33)

Bryan Wong (35)

Zheng Luka (39)