1979 in Singapore

The following lists events that happened during 1979 in Singapore.

Incumbents

 * President: Benjamin Henry Sheares
 * Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew

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 (ITB) and the Adult Education Board (AEB). 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.

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 (ATM) 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 - Activist, volunteer, social worker (b. 1898).
 * 3 September – Lim Cheng Hoe - Pioneering watercolourist (b. 1912).
 * 2 November – Jah Lelawati - Bangsawan actress, writer (b. 1937).