1973 in Singapore

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The following lists events that happened during 1973 in Singapore.

← 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

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]

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.^[3]
• 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.^[4]

June

• 2 June – The CPF Building starts construction, housing the new headquarters of the Central Provident Fund.^[5] The building was completed in 1976, standing for 41 years until its redevelopment in 2017 by Ascendas-Singbridge (now CapitaLand).^[6]
• 27 June – Singapore Zoo opens to the public.^[7][8]

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.^[9]
• 22 July – The first NTUC Welcome (now NTUC FairPrice) opens its first outlet in Toa Payoh to fight inflation caused by the oil crisis.^[10]
• 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.^[11]

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.^[12]
• 12–14 September - Singapore participates in its first General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) event in Tokyo.^[13]

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.^[14]

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.
• Justin Dominic Misson, actor and moderator.

Deaths

• 12 July – Ong Poh Heng, off-duty police officer, 28. 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.^[15]
• 2 September – Mohammed Sanusi Bin Siraj, police officer, killed by a runaway vehicle at the Paya Lebar Police Station.^[16]

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. "The Institute of Education is established". NLB. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
4. Solomon, Eli (2008). Snakes & Devils: A History of the Singapore Grand Prix (Hard cover). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-981-261-584-8.
5. "Foundation stone laying ceremony for the new CPF Building" (PDF). NAS. 2 June 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
6. . The Edge Property Singapore. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
7. "Singapore Zoo". NLB. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
8. Catharine E. Bell (January 2001). Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 1155. ISBN 978-1-57958-174-9.
9. "A tribute to the Old Lady of Kallang", The Straits Times, 31 May 2007
10. "Opening of the Consumer Co-operative (Welcome) in Toa Payoh" (PDF). NAS. 22 July 1973. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
11. "Mimi Wong and husband hanged". New Nation. 27 July 1973. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
12. Sharon Teng; Lim Tin Seng (15 May 2014). "The 7th SEAP Games". NLB. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
13. "Singapore accedes to the GATT". NLB. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
14. "Establishment of the Singapore Sports Council". NLB. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
15. "Detective shot dead at pointblank: Hunt for cool killer". The Straits Times. 13 July 1973.
16. "PC dies after bid to stop bus". The Straits Times. 3 December 1973.