1990 in Singapore

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← 1989 1988 1987 1990 in Singapore → 1991 1992 1993
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1990 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1990 in Singapore.

Incumbents

• President: Wee Kim Wee
• Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew (until 28 November), Goh Chok Tong (starting 28 November)

Events

January

• 1 January – YES 933, a Mandarin radio station, starts broadcast.
• 22 January – DBS Land (present day CapitaLand) through its subsidiary Real Estate Holdings Pte Ltd is awarded the project to restore Clarke Quay, which will be completed by 1993 along with Boat Quay. These conserved shophouses will have shopping, entertainment and recreation facilities. ^[1]

February

• 7 February – The Ministry of Health allows the transplant of heart and liver on a pilot basis, making it the first such transplant. ^[2]
• 13 February – The Singapore Aviation Academy starts construction, formed from the previous Training Centre. The Academy's new building will have more aviation courses, state-of-the-art equipment, among other stuff. The facility, when completed by end 1991, will be the first in Asia. It officially opened in 1992. ^[3]

March

• 10 March – The Branch MRT line is opened from Jurong East to Choa Chu Kang. It merged into the North South MRT line in 1996 following the Woodlands Extension. ^[4]
• 24 March – The first phase of the Seletar Expressway opened.

April

• 1 April – Class 95FM starts broadcast.
• 2 April – The first bidding for Certificates of Entitlement took place.
• 6 April – Temasek Polytechnic was established as Singapore's third polytechnic.

May

• 4 May – The combined Fraser and Neave and Asia Pacific Breweries factory opens in Tuas. ^[5]
• 15 May – Known as the Amber Beacon Tower murder, a young couple were attacked by two unknown men at the tower in East Coast Park during their date. The girlfriend, Kelly Tan Ah Hong, was killed while her boyfriend James Soh Fook Leong was grievously injured. The murder remains unsolved till today. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}

July

• 1 July – Medishield is launched as an insurance scheme, providing an additional buffer for medical costs. It has since been replaced by Medishield Life in 2015 for universal coverage. ^[10]
• 6 July -
  • The MRT system is completed with the opening of Boon Lay. ^{[11] [12]}
  • Singapore's first heart transplant is performed on Wee Soo Hup, a 59-year-old retired information officer suffering from terminal heart disease, led by Dr Tong Ming Chuan from the Singapore General Hospital. The operation is declared a success. ^[13]

September

• 29 September – Singapore's first liver transplant is performed on 25-year-old Surinder Kaur, led by Dr Susan Lim from the National University Hospital. The operation is declared successful. ^[14]

October

• October - The Singapore National Eye Centre starts operations.
• 13 October – The first 8 Days issue is published. ^{[15] [16]}
• 31 October – SingTel launched Teleview, a service which provides information instantly. The launch of Teleview makes it the first picture-quality videotext system in the world. ^[17]

November

• 3 November – Construction starts on bridges linking mainland Singapore to Sentosa and Pulau Brani, which will be completed by 1992. ^[18]
• 22 November -
  • Changi Airport Terminal 2 begins operation. ^{[19] [20]}
  • The first Nominated Members of Parliament, Leong Chee Whye and Maurice Choo, were appointed. ^[21]
• 25 November – The Farecard and integrated Ticketing System is launched by TransitLink. ^[22]
• 27 November – The Malaysia–Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990 is signed over the issue of Keretapi Tanah Melayu land in Singapore, as well as joint development of land with a ratio of 60:40. However, the way the agreement was implemented resulted in disputes, with it completely resolved on 24 May 2010.
• 28 November -
  • Goh Chok Tong becomes the second Prime Minister of Singapore.
  • The Ministry of Information and the Arts is formed from the previous Ministry of Communications and Information and sections of the previous Ministry of Community Development. This will help to create a culturally vibrant Singapore. ^[23]

December

• 1 December – Ria 89.7FM launched as the second Malay radio station.
• 26 December – Inuka is born in Singapore Zoo, thus becoming the first polar bear to be born in the tropics. ^[24]

Births

• 11 February – Shawn Lee, actor.
• 13 February – Jonathan Chua, The Sam Willows member.
• 15 August – Benjamin Kheng, The Sam Willows member.
• 19 August - Joshua Tan, actor.
• 24 August – Aloysius Pang, Mediacorp actor (d. 2019).
• 4 October – Shane Pow, Mediacorp actor.
• 22 December – Gabriel Quak, national football player.
• 25 December – Sandra Riley Tang, The Sam Willows member.
• 26 December – Inuka, first polar bear born in tropics (d. 2018).

Deaths

• 19 February – Rahim Omar, football player (b. 1934). ^[25]
• 25 April – See Hiang To, pioneering artist in Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal carving (b. 1906). ^{[26] [27]}
• 14 May – K. M. Byrne, politician, diplomat and lawyer (b. 1913). ^[28]
• 18 September – Richard Eric Holttum, director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1925 to 1949 (b. 1895). ^[29]
• 23 December – Quah Chin Lai, metal and machinery hardware tycoon and philanthropist (b. 1892). ^[30]
• 25 December – Hong Choon, 2nd President of the Singapore Buddhist Federation and 2nd Abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (b. 1907). ^[31]

References

1. "Agreement Signing Ceremony for the Clarke Quay Conservation Area" (PDF). NAS. 22 January 1990. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
2. "S'pore doctors to do transplants of heart, liver for first time". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 8 February 1990. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
3. "Ground Breaking Ceremory of the Singapore Aviation Academy" (PDF). NAS. 13 February 1990. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
4. "Opening of Section 8 of the MRT system at the Bukit Gombak station" (PDF). NAS. 10 March 1990. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
5. "Joint Opening Ceremony of Fraser & Neave Limited and Asia Pacific Breweries Limited" (PDF). NAS. 4 May 1990. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
6. "Couple stabbed at beacon tower in East Coast Park". The Straits Times. 17 May 1990.
7. "Family of murdered girl offers $30,000 reward". The Straits Times. 10 April 1992.
8. "Murdered girl's family makes second appeal". The Straits Times. 11 June 1992.
9. "Haunted by unsolved murder of girlfriend 25 years ago". The Straits Times. 19 July 2015.
10. "Medisave". NLB. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
11. "Boon Lay". National Library Board.
12. "Closing ceremony to mark the completion of the MRT project and the opening of Boon Lay station" (PDF). NAS. 6 July 1990. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
13. "Singapore's first heart transplant". NLB. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
14. "Singapore's first liver transplant". NLB. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
15. "Cover to cover". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
16. "The 8 Days Archive: Issues 1–50". 8-Days. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
17. "Launching ceremony for public service of Teleview" (PDF). NAS. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
18. "Sentosa road link designed to keep island's ambience". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 4 November 1990. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
19. "Changi Airport". National Library Board.
20. "First 137 passengers take off from Terminal 2". The New Paper (retrieved from NLB). 22 November 1990. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
21. "Appointment of the first Nominated Members of Parliament". NLB. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
22. "Milestones". TransitLink. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
23. "The Ministry of Information and the Arts is formed". NLB. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
24. "Farewell Inuka: 7 facts about the Singapore Zoo's first polar bear born in the tropics". The Straits Times. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
25. "Rahim Omar". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
26. "See Hiang To". reference.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
27. "文化界前辈施香沱逝世". NewspaperSG . 26 April 1990. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
28. "K. M. Byrne". NLB. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
29. "Richard Eric Holttum". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
30. "柯进来治丧费捐慈善团体". NewspaperSG . 21 March 1991. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
31. Sheo Be, Ho (25 May 1995). "Former abbot's statue ready for installation at temple". NewspaperSG . Retrieved 29 June 2025.