1973 in Singapore

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← 1972 1971 1970 1973 in Singapore → 1974 1975 1976
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1973 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1973 in Singapore.

Incumbents

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

Events

February

• 4 February – The first Chingay Parade is held in Singapore. ^[1]
• 16 February – The Misuse of Drugs Act is passed to deal with the problem of drug abuse more effectively. ^[2]

March

• 30 March – RTS partitions its two channels among language lines, after ten years of television broadcasts in all four languages on the came channel. Channel 5 was used to broadcast in English and Malay and Channel 8, Chinese and Tamil. ^[3]

April

• 1 April – The Institute of Education is established, taking over the role of the Teachers' Training College which started in 1950. This will boost teaching standards in Singapore. ^[4]
• 6 April – The Singapore Red Cross Society is incorporated.
• 22 April – The final Singapore Grand Prix is held before the event is discontinued as a result of safety concerns. It was brought back in 2008 as a round of the Formula One World Championship. ^[5]

June

• 2 June – The CPF Building starts construction, housing the new headquarters of the Central Provident Fund. ^[6] The building was completed in 1976, standing for 41 years until its redevelopment in 2017 by Ascendas-Singbridge (now CapitaLand). ^[7]
• 27 June – Singapore Zoo opens to the public. ^{[8] [9]}

July

Saint Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore

• 1 July - SBS Transit (Previously known as Singapore Bus Services) was formed in the merger of 3 different private bus companies (United Bus Company, Associated Bus Service, and Amalgamated Bus Company)
• 6 July – St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore, is gazetted as a national monument.
• 21 July – The National Stadium, in Kallang, is officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. ^[10]
• 22 July – The first NTUC Welcome (now NTUC FairPrice) opens its first outlet in Toa Payoh to fight inflation caused by the oil crisis. ^[11]
• 27 July – For the first time in Singapore, the government executed its first female death row inmate in the country since its independence eight years back. 34-year-old Mimi Wong was earlier sentenced to death by the High Court for the 1970 murder of Ayako Watanabe, and has lost her appeals since. Wong's 40-year-old husband Sim Wor Kum, who assisted her to commit the murder, was also executed on the same day as Wong. ^[12]

September

• 1–8 September - Singapore hosts the 7th South East Asian Peninsular Games for the first time. It clinched the second place, accumulating a total of 140 medals. ^[13]
• 12–14 September - Singapore participates in its first General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) event in Tokyo. ^[14]

October

• 1 October – The Singapore Sports Council is formed from the merger of National Sports Promotion Board and the National Stadium Corporation. It aims to encourage a healthy lifestyle through sports. ^[15]

Date unknown

• Tower 2 of Mandarin Orchard Singapore is opened.
• The People's Park Centre, People's Park Complex and Golden Mile Complex are completed.
• The UIC Building is completed, standing for 39 years until its redevelopment as V on Shenton (Five on Shenton) in 2012, a residential tower completed in 2017.
• UOB Plaza Two is completed as United Overseas Bank's headquarters.
• The Sentosa Musical Fountain opens alongside the Fountain Gardens in Sentosa.

Births

• 16 July – Ivy Lee, actress.
• 22 July – Vernetta Lopez, radio presenter, actress.
• 24 August – Mike Kasem, radio presenter.
• 29 October – Saktiandi Supaat, politician and economist.
• 4 November – Chee Hong Tat, current Minister of National Development.
• Justin Dominic Misson, actor and moderator.

Deaths

• 4 January – Chuang Chu Lin, former Vice Chancellor of Nanyang University and founder of Chung Cheng High School (b. 1900). ^{[16] [17]}
• 9 July – Lien Shih Sheng, former Chief Editor of Nanyang Siang Pau (b. 1907). ^{[18] [19]}
• 12 July – Ong Poh Heng, off-duty police officer. Ong stopped to intervene in an argument between a bus driver and a gunman along Still Road. The gunman shot him twice, killing him instantly (b. 1945). ^[20]
• 2 September – Mohammed Sanusi Bin Siraj, police officer, killed by a runaway vehicle at the Paya Lebar Police Station. ^[21]

References

1. "Colourful Chingay parade delights the crowds". The Straits Times . 6 February 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 25 September 2023– via NewspaperSG.
2. "Misuse of Drugs Act". AGC. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
3. "NEW TIMES FOR TV SCREENING FROM FRIDAY". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 27 March 1973. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
4. "The Institute of Education is established". NLB. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
5. Solomon, Eli (2008). Snakes & Devils: A History of the Singapore Grand Prix (Hard cover). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN   978-981-261-584-8.
6. "Foundation stone laying ceremony for the new CPF Building" (PDF). NAS. 2 June 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
7. "Ascendas-Singbridge to redevelop CPF Building for $1 bil". The Edge Property Singapore. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
8. "Singapore Zoo". NLB. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
9. Catharine E. Bell (January 2001). Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 1155. ISBN   978-1-57958-174-9.
10. "A tribute to the Old Lady of Kallang", The Straits Times , 31 May 2007
11. "Opening of the Consumer Co-operative (Welcome) in Toa Payoh" (PDF). NAS. 22 July 1973. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
12. "Mimi Wong and husband hanged". New Nation. 27 July 1973. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
13. Sharon Teng; Lim Tin Seng (15 May 2014). "The 7th SEAP Games". NLB. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
14. "Singapore accedes to the GATT". NLB. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
15. "Establishment of the Singapore Sports Council". NLB. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
16. "Chuang Chu Lin". reference.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
17. "Former Nantah head Dr. Chuang dies, aged 73". NewspaperSG . 5 January 1973. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
18. "Lien Shih Sheng". reference.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
19. "前本報總編輯連士升逝世遺體明日安葬". Nanyang Siang Pau . 10 July 1973. p. 3. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
20. "Detective shot dead at pointblank: Hunt for cool killer". The Straits Times. 13 July 1973.
21. "PC dies after bid to stop bus". The Straits Times. 3 December 1973.