1972 in Singapore

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← 1971 1970 1969 1972 in Singapore → 1973 1974 1975
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1972 Timeline of Singaporean history

Pavel Kiselev in Singapore, spring 1972. An image from family archive, owned by D.Kiselev

The following lists events that happened during 1972 in Singapore.

Incumbents

• President: Benjamin Henry Sheares
• Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew

Events

January

• 1 January – The Post Office Savings Bank is turned into a statutory board. This allows the bank more freedom to run its operations. ^[1]

February

• 7 February – The National Wages Council is set up to ensure sustainable wages. This comes after wages have risen quickly the previous year. ^{[2] [3]}

April

• 1 April – The Telephone Department is converted into a statutory board called the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore. ^[4]
• 2 April – The Singapore Grand Prix is won by Max Stewart. ^[5]

May

• 12 May – The National Productivity Board is formed to encourage productivity. ^[6]

June

• 15 June – The SAF Act comes into effect, allowing for effective management of the Singapore Armed Forces. The Act merges the air, sea and land vocations and establishes the Armed Forces Council. ^[7]

July

• 2 July – Singapore Armed Forces Reservist Association is officially launched.
• 20 July – The Stop at Two policy is unveiled to encourage people to have smaller families. ^{[8] [9]}

August

• 17 August – Work starts on the Brani Naval Base.

September

• 1 September – The Sentosa Development Corporation is formed to manage Sentosa and the outlying islands to attract tourists. ^[10]
• 2 September – The People's Action Party wins the 1972 General Election. ^[11]
• 15 September – The first Merlion Park is officially opened. ^[12]
• 18 September – 22-year-old Chan Chee Chan is shot dead while walking through Queenstown; the crime remains unsolved. ^[13]

October

• 1 October – Singapore Airlines starts its first flights.
• 13 October – Heavy fog, an environmental phenomenon that had built up since the beginning of the month, causes gridlock and other problems throughout Singapore. ^[14]
• 24 October – Disincentives are announced to nudge families into having only two children, taking effect on 1 August 1973. Among them are progressive reduction of income tax relief to the first three children; increase in childbirth fees depending on births; reduction of paid maternity leave from three to two confinements; and lowering priority of HDB flats allocations for large families (more than two children). ^[15]

November

• 21 November – A fire engulfs the Robinson's Department Store, causing 9 deaths. In addition, the impact of the fire damaged the roof of the Overseas Union Bank building and forced the Stock Exchange to stop trading for the day. As a result, this makes the fire one of the worst in Singapore's history. ^{[16] [17]}

December

• 15 December -
  • OCBC acquires Four Seas Communications Bank. ^[18]
  • SATS Ltd is established as a separate company from Singapore Airlines to manage ground operations and inflight catering services.

Date unknown

• The OG building is officially opened. ^[19]
• Three Rifles Holdings is founded, becoming a company selling clothes. ^[20]
• Specialists' Shopping Centre is opened in Orchard Road. It has since been demolished.
• The first Guardian store is opened by Cold Storage. ^[21]
• Shaw Centre is opened.

Births

• 22 February – Dasmond Koh, actor. ^[22]
• 26 April – Diana Ser, journalist, media personality.
• 27 May – Lynn Ban, jewellery designer (died 2025)
• 15 September – Kit Chan, singer. ^[23]
• 30 September – Darren Lim, actor.
• 6 November – Janil Puthucheary, politician.
• 18 December – Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister.
• Alvin Pang - poet. ^[24]

Deaths

• 4 April – Lionel Chan – racing driver, 28 (injuries sustained in a crash during the Singapore Grand Prix) ^[25]
• 5 May – Chen Su Lan – one of Singapore's first local medical graduates, philanthropist, social reformer (b. 1885). ^[26]
• 5 September – Bashir Ahmad Mallal – founder of Malayan Law Journal (b. 1898). ^[27]
• 11 September – Tan Lark Sye – former chairman of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and founder of the Nanyang University (b. 1897). ^[28]

References

1. "Post Office Savings Bank becomes a statutory board". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
2. "National Wages Council is established". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
3. "Wages council set up". NLB. 8 February 1972. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
4. "Singapore Telecom goes public". NLB. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
5. "Grand Prix 1972". National Archives of Singapore. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
6. "National Productivity Board is established". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
7. "Singapore Armed Forces Act comes into effect". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
8. "National Family Planning Campaign is launched". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
9. "Two-child policy". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
10. "Sentosa Development Corporation is formed". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
11. "1972 Parliamentary General Election". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
12. "Mouth of the Singapore River". NLB. 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
13. "10 Epic Unsolved Crimes In Singapore's History From As Early As 1972 Fit For A CSI Remake". The Smart Local. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
14. "Haze in Singapore: A problem dating back 40 years". The Straits Times. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
15. "It's dearer after two". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 25 October 1972. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
16. "Nine feared dead". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 22 November 1972. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
17. "Robinson's Department Store fire at Raffles Place". NLB. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
18. "OCBC takes over Four Seas". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 16 December 1972. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
19. "Opening of the OG Building". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
20. "Three Rifles Holdings is established". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
21. "Guardian Health & Beauty Looking for Community Pharmacists". Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
22. "Dasmond Koh On Why He Didn't Expect To Be An All-Time Fave & Why He Has Never Won A Hosting Award". TODAYonline. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
23. "Kit Chan : first Youth Ambassador". NLB. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
24. "Alvin Pang". NLB. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
25. "Driver dies after racing crash". The Times. 5 April 1972. p. 6.
26. "Chen Su Lan". NLB. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
27. "Bashir Ahmad Mallal". NLB. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
28. "Tan Lark Sye". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 7 April 2024.