1971 in Singapore

The following lists events that happened during 1971 in Singapore.

Incumbents

 * President: Yeoh Ghim Seng (Acting) (23 November 1970 to 2 January), Benjamin Henry Sheares (starting 2 January)
 * Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew

January

 * 1 January – The Monetary Authority of Singapore was established to regulate the financial sector and as Singapore's central bank.
 * 2 January – Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares becomes the second President of Singapore.
 * 3 January – Jurong Bird Park opens to the public.
 * 14–22 January - Singapore hosts the 18th Conference of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
 * 29 January – The Preservation of Monuments Board was established to identify and safeguard buildings of great historical value and recommend as national monuments.

February

 * 1 February – The National Sports Promotion Board is formed to promote and develop sports in Singapore.

March

 * 15 March – The Staff Training Institute (now the Civil Service College) is established to train civil servants.

April

 * 15–16 April – Singapore, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand sign the Five Power Defence Arrangements. The agreement comes into effect on 1 November the same year.
 * 23 April –
 * The Shangri-La Hotel Singapore is opened.
 * The first Concept Plan is unveiled, which proposes a 'Ring Plan'.

May

 * 11 May – Local newspapers Eastern Sun and the Singapore Herald were accused by then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of having been involved in "black operations". They later shut down on 18 May and 28 May respectively.

July

 * 14 July – The Jurong Drive-in Cinema is opened as Singapore's first and only open-air drive-in cinema. The cinema operated for 15 years until its closure on 30 September 1985.
 * 30 July – Singapore's first sex reassignment surgery is performed on a 24-year-old who becomes a woman after the surgery, led by Dr S. S. Ratnam. The surgery is declared a success.

October

 * 23 October – The Sentosa Satellite Earth Station is officially launched, making it Singapore's first Satellite Earth Station.
 * 31 October – The last British military forces withdraws from Singapore.

November

 * 2 November – The Central Narcotics Bureau is set up to tackle the problem of drugs in Singapore.
 * 7 November – The first Tree Planting Day is launched by Dr Goh Keng Swee in Mount Faber.

December

 * 1 December – The Singapore Traction Company ceases operations.
 * 2 December – The Clean Air Act is passed to deal with pollution caused by early industrialisation.
 * 29 December – The Gold Bars triple murders saw a gold merchant and his two employees robbed and killed by a group of 10 men. Seven of the 10 men were sentenced to death for the crime; the remaining three were indefinitely detained for lengthy periods before their release.

Date unknown

 * Tower 1 of Mandarin Orchard Singapore is opened.

Births

 * 27 January – Fann Wong, actress.
 * 30 January – Bryan Wong, actor.
 * 23 July – Christopher Lee, Malaysia-born Singaporean actor.
 * Daren Shiau, writer, lawyer, and environmental activist.
 * Selena Tan, producer, director, writer, and actress.

Deaths

 * 7 February – Chen Yoh Shoo, former Chairman of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (b. 1900).
 * 26 June – Goh Chew Chua, former Assemblyman for Tampines Constituency (b. 1897).
 * 21 September – Tan Chor Lam, Chinese businessman and first chairman of the Nanyang Branch of the Tongmenghui (b. 1884).