1970 in Singapore
# 1970 in Singapore

The following lists events that happened during 1970 in Singapore.

## Incumbents

* President: Yusof Ishak (until 23 November), Yeoh Ghim Seng (Acting) (23 November to 2 January 1971)
* Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew

## Events

### May

* 2 May – The Queenstown Branch Library (now Queenstown Community Library) is opened to the public, making it Singapore's first branch library.
* 14 May – The National Junior College opens as Singapore's first junior college. 6 to 8 more junior colleges are announced over the next few years as part of a new education plan, along with more ASEAN students and scholarships, a new hostel in Outram by September and the St John's School to be run by a trust.

### July

* 8 July – Singapore's first kidney transplant is performed on 29-year-old Doreen Tan at the Outram Park General Hospital (present day Singapore General Hospital), led by Chan Kong Thoe. The operation is declared a success.

### August

* 4 August – The Ministry of Health announced more hawker centres to be built within five years to resettle all street hawkers, resulting in greater hygiene and better facilities. For a start, three such hawker centres will be built this year.
* 11 August The Ministry of Interior and Defence splits, forming the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs to better cater for defence and homeland security functions.

### September

* September - Singapore is admitted into the Non-Aligned Movement.

### October

* 1 October – The first shopping mall in Singapore, the People's Park Complex, is opened.

### November

* 23 November – Singapore's first President Yusof Ishak dies while in office. Speaker of Parliament Yeoh Ghim Seng temporarily serves as acting president during that time.

## Births

* 22 June – Glenn Ong – radio DJ.
* 22 August – Gwee Li Sui – Poet, graphic artist, critic.
* 31 August – Baey Yam Keng – Politician.
* 10 November – Tay Ping Hui – Actor, director.
* Dave Chua – Author of Gone Case.
* Paul Tan – Poet, winner of 1993 and 1997 Singapore Literature Prize.

## Deaths

* 23 November – Yusof bin Ishak, 1st President of Singapore (b. 1910).
