1988 in Singapore

Incumbents

• President: Wee Kim Wee
• Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew

Events

January

• 15 January – Catherine Lim's novel, Or Else, the Lightning God and Other Stories, is selected for the O Level exams conducted internationally in the 1989 and 1990 edition. This marks the first time Singapore literature is selected for examinations.

March

• 12 March – The MRT system is officially opened, with the opening of a new section from Tiong Bahru to Clementi.

April

• April - The first Watsons store opens in Singapore.
• 22 April – The National Blood Centre is officially opened. The new facilities will have a spacious environment, and can handle 120,000 donors, double the previous premises. The centre can handle national emergencies with mass casualties. In addition, a blood research facility and public health lab will be housed.

June

• 1 June – Group representation constituencies (GRCs) are introduced.
• 9 June – The National Skin Centre starts operations.
• 27 June – The National Pledge is now taken with a right fist on the chest.

July

• 26 July – The New Paper was launched as a tabloid.

August

• 8 August – The OUB Centre (present-day One Raffles Place) is officially opened. At 280 metres, it stands as Singapore's tallest building until Guoco Tower's completion in 2016, which stands at 290 metres.
• 10 August – Kuo Pao Kun's Mama Looking for Her Cat is staged for the first time, making it Singapore's first multilingual play.
• 13 August – The first Malay Language and Cultural Month is officially opened.
• 30 August – The Operations Control Centre of the Singapore MRT system is officially opened.

September

• 3 September – The PAP wins the 1988 General Election.

October

• 25 October – A major fire took place at the Singapore Refining Company (SRC) refinery in Pulau Merlimau.
• 29 October – NTUC Pasir Ris Resort is officially opened.

November

• 5 November – The fourth section of the MRT system is opened from Jurong East to Lakeside.

December

• 20 December – The fifth section of the MRT is opened from Yishun to Khatib.

Date unknown

• The 1988 Singapore Lunar Year of the Dragon 1oz Gold Coin was struck by the Singapore Mint in the year 1988 and belongs to the popular Lunar series of gold bullion coins. Each 24k coin contains 1 troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of gold and is legal tender with a face value of $100
• Portek, a medium-sized terminal operator and port equipment engineering provider is founded.
• Zoe Tay was crowned the winner in the finals of the inaugural season of the reality television programme Star Search on SBC-8.

Births

• 29 January – Tay Kexin, Singer.
• 14 June – Sylvia Ratonel, Singer.
• 6 July – Mok Ying Ren, Singaporean long-distance runner
• 5 August – Lawrence Wong Koon-Yat, tctor.
• 14 September – Charlie Goh, Actor.
• 3 October – Jeffrey Xu, Shanghai-based television Actor.
• 2 November – Dee Kosh, Radio DJ and YouTube personality.

Deaths

• 10 March – Lü Chen Chung, Bible Chinese translator (b. 1898).
• 3 April – Lee Man Fong, artist (b. 1913).
• 14 May – Zhuang Xiquan, Chinese community leader and founding member of the Nanyang Girls' High School (b. 1888).
• 19 December – Lim Han, editor of Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh and later Lianhe Zaobao (b. 1929).
• 22 December – Kouo Shang Wei, pioneer photographer (b. 1924).

References

References

1. (16 January 1988). "S'pore book is O-level text worldwide".
2. "Work by Catherine Lim is selected for 'O' Level study".
3. (12 March 1988). "Official opening of the Singapore MRT system".
4. "Watsons".
5. (22 April 1988). "Opening of the National Blood Centre".
6. (1988}}. The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill (No. B 24 of 1987) was read in Parliament for the first time on 30 November 1987. The Second Reading took place on 12 January 1988, and it was referred to a [[Parliament of Singapore#Select committees). "Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act".
7. (28 June 1988). "Students' new heartfelt way of saying the Pledge".
8. (8 August 1988). "Official Opening of the Overseas Union Bank Centre".
9. "First multilingual play in Singapore".
10. (13 August 1988). "Official launching of the "Malay Language and Cultural Month 1988" at the PUB Auditorium".
11. (30 August 1988). "Opening of the Operations Control Centre of the Singapore MRT system".
12. (15 November 2001). "Elections in Asia and the Pacific : A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific". OUP Oxford.
13. "Pulau Merlimau refinery fire".
14. (29 October 1988). "Official Opening of the NTUC Pasir Ris Resort".
15. (5 November 1988). "Opening of Section 4 of the MRT system at Jurong East station".
16. (20 December 1988). "Opening of Section 5 of the MRT system at Yishun station".
17. "1988 Singapore Lunar Year of the Dragon Gold Coin".
18. "Kang, WC., 2011. "Portek eyes potential in Africa: cements niche in port services suite". The Edge Singapore, 28 Mar. p10".
19. "Mok Ying Ren, "I will be training hard for a medal at the SEA Games" {{!}} Singapore Athletics".
20. "《吕译旧新约圣经》的翻译过程 - 生命季刊".
21. "Lee Man Fong".
22. Rubo, Ou. (19 June 1988). "南洋女中创办人 百岁老人庄希泉逝世中国".
23. (19 December 1988). "《联合早报》编辑 林汉病逝".
24. "Kouo Shang Wei".