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

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.

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

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

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

7 February – Chen Yoh Shoo, former Chairman of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (b. 1900).
16 May – Pang Choon Jin, former civil servant and one of the early pioneers of the Buddhist Union in Singapore (b. 1908).
25 June – Goh Chew Chua, former Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and former PAP legislative assemblyman for Tampines Constituency (b. 1897).
22 August – Aw Cheng Chye, millionaire, businessman, company director and philanthropist (b. 1924).
21 September – Tan Chor Lam, businessman and 1st Chairman of the Nanyang Branch of the Tongmenghui (b. 1884).