Group Number 3, (Fong Swee Suan) Anna Ng, Calida Soh, Nicole Yang, Wenhua, Antong.

1. What makes a hero? Are heroes only those who have achieved what they want to achieve or did they arise from some 'special' circumstances?

What really makes a hero, in our view, is that a hero accepts the call to adventure and overcome perils in a manner that requires courage and sacrifice, and in a way that benefits the community in some way. A hero, is an everyday person that can change the world. A hero is not someone that hurts others intentionally or does bad things, but they help people. A hero doesn’t always fight crime or always have an opposition. A hero is an everyday person who can change the world for the better. It could be simple like helping one person out or by helping millions. We think that whether a hero is a true hero depends on his inside, that person has to have moral. I think a true hero is someone that goes through hell and back to reach their ultimate goal. To become a hero, they've got to have internal/ external struggles that they must overcome. They must have perseverance to the bitter end, and decide never to give up no matter what it takes.
They have to muster up every drop of energy and strength they have to face whatever evil is threatening them.

What challenges does a hero face and how does his/ her qualities enable him/ her to overcome challenges? Describe at least one challenge and how the hero overcomes the challenge.

After he left school in 1950, he became a Secretary in the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union. He was then promoted to a higher position in April 1953. He met Lee Kuan Yew for the first time in 1954, through a friend. On 21^st November 1954, PAP was officially opened. Fong Swee Suan was also elected as a committee member.

In May 1955, he initiated and lead in 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 23^rd 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. The head of the SBWU, Fong Swee Suan declared an official strike, urging all bus companies to stage a sympathy strike if the dispute was not settled. The dispute escalated when the Hock Lee Bus Company retaliated by dismissing 229 workers, belonging to Fong Swee Suan’s Union. Strikers went on hunger strike and Bus Company and some Chinese students began to go on strike. They were mem picketed the depot. On April 23, 1955, workers from the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company chamber of the Singapore Bus Worker's Union (SBWU) and were protesting against poor working conditions, long work hours and low pay. They also felt threatened by a rival union which was supported by the bus company to counter any labour action by SBWU.

The strike was rumored to be instigated by pro-communists. However, it was more likely to have been fanned by anti-colonial sentiments. Singapore had just held a Legislative Assembly Election on April, and the Labour Front led by David Marshall formed a minority government after winning a narrow victory. Fong Swee Suan and Lim Chin Siong, two anti-colonial leaders of SBWU, felt that the labour front was still controlled by the British. Violent as it was, the riots were an opportunity to fight for independence and self government. Fong Swee Suan later made a public apology to express the regret for the violence which got out of hand. 'We express our deep distress at the violence used against the buses of the Hock Lee Bus Company and the police.'

The strikers stopped the buses from leaving the depots and crippled the country's entire transport system. In a show of support, students from the Chinese Middle schools came in busloads to join the strikers. They organized donation drives, brought food and money, and even entertained the workers with songs and dances. Other workers also expressed support.

The police attempted to disperse the picketers many times. On April 27,1955, police tried to break up the strikers and injured 15 people. This gained more public sympathy and support for the strikers.

On 11^th 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 21^st September 1956, he was appointed as the vice-chairman of the Association of Workers’ Singapore Industry. This Association was set up on the 22^nd May 1954. in 21^st 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 27^th October 1956, Lim Yew Hock, decided to arrested all the people involved in all the strikes as there were too many strikes, thus resulting in another arrest of Fong Swee Suan. Arrested together with him were 200 other communists such as Lim Chin Siong, Chengara Veetil Devan Nair. Lim Yew Hock also destroyed the Middle Road Union Workers’ Party. Students involved were also dispersed.

In 1957, at Changi Detention Centre, Lim Chin Siong and other communists signed a treaty written by Chengara Veetil Devan Nair. 4^th June 1959, the communists were released from the detention centre. After they were released, the held a conference with reporters and answered the reporters’ questions. They also spoke of a new strategy after Singapore’s independence, which included Singapore’s responsibility and policy. After expressing their views on this issue, they became very popular amongst the people. In 1959, he was appointed as the government secretary of the ministry of manpower and the dispute secretary of National Trades Union Congress of Singapore (NTUC).

On the 18^th 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 2^nd Februry 1963, he was arrested for the third time. He was being brought to Malaya, with a short detention in Kuala Lumpur and then transferred to another detention centre in Muar. He was there for 4 years and 6 months. On 25^th August 1967, he was released before the 10^th anniversary of Malaya’s independence. He received his O’level and A’level certificates during his detention period. 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.

He retired on 1996 and continued on an arts research and got an MBA and a PhD degree from another university. He has three children, his eldest daughter, Xiu Min is an architect. His eldest son, Fang Yong Jin, is a mechanical engineer. His youngest son, Fang Yong Zheng, is an electrical engineer.

Sources :

http://adrr.com/story/hero.htm
http://socyberty.com/tag/hero/
http://historyof07.blogspot.com/
http://www.tnppostwoman.com/imiw/?p=103