1979 in Singapore
The following lists events that happened during 1979 in Singapore.
Incumbents
Events
January
- 11 January – The Singapore Refining Company is formed by three oil companies, namely Singapore Petroleum Company, Chevron and BP.
- 24 January – The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is formed, playing its first concert.
April
- 1 April – The Vocational and Industrial Training Board is formed from a merger between the Industrial Training Board and the Adult Education Board. The Board handles vocational and industrial training until the formation of Institute of Technical Education in 1992.
- 16 April – Plans for Raffles City, a future mixed-use development, are unveiled with a model shown to the public. The development will include a mall, an office block and 3 hotel towers; with one standing at about 200 metres high. Costing about S$600m, the development was targeted for completion in 1983, but it only opened in 1986.
- 20 April – Mitsukoshi Garden is officially opened in Jurong.
- 30 April – The government acquired land of the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Teng Cemetery and plans to redeveloped it into the Bishan New Town.
June
- 1 June – The first National Courtesy Campaign is launched.
- 27 June – Sentosa Development Corporation announced a new monorail system that will replace double-decker buses, as well as a new 10-storey luxury hotel on Fort Siloso.
July
- 1 July – The four-digit postal code system takes effect, replacing the previous system used since 1950. The system, first announced on 25 April, will help in automating mail sorting processes.
- 30 July – The Ulu Pandan Incineration Plant is officially opened, making it Singapore's first incineration plant.
September
- 7 September – The first Speak Mandarin Campaign is launched to encourage Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin instead of dialects.
October
- 15 October – The first automated teller machine in Singapore is launched.
- 20 October – The first McDonald's outlet opened in Liat Towers.
Date unknown
- Singapore becomes the world's second busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage.
Births
- 13 February – Jesseca Liu, actress.
- 2 May – Joscelin Yeo, former national swimmer.
- 26 June – Alaric Tay, actor.
- 28 June – Jeanette Aw, actress.
- 30 June – Rosanne Wong, former singer and 2R member.
- 10 July – Sun Xueling, politician.
- 25 November – Chua En Lai, actor.
- 25 December – Celest Chong, actress and former singer.
Deaths
- 2 September – Checha Davies, social worker and women's rights activist.
- 3 September – Lim Cheng Hoe, pioneering watercolourist.
- 2 November – Jah Lelawati, Bangsawan actress and writer.
- 2 December – Low Guan Onn, joint managing director of Jurong Shipyard and former PAP Member of Parliament for River Valley Constituency.