1963 in Singapore

The following lists events that happened during 1963 in Singapore.

• Singapore was a 14th State of Malaysia beginning 16 September 1963.

← 1962 1961 1960 1963 in Singapore → 1964 1965 1966
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	Other events of 1963 Timeline of Singaporean history

Incumbents

• Yang di-Pertuan Negara – Yusof Ishak
• Prime Minister – Lee Kuan Yew

Events

January

• 6 January – The OG factory is officially opened.[1]
• 20 January – Confrontation was announced.[2]

February

• 2 February – Operation Coldstore was mounted to stop communist influence, resulting in 113 people being arrested.[3]
• 15 February – The first TV station was launched on Channel 5.[4] Regular television transmissions only started from 2 April.[5]

March

• 13 March – The Civilian War Memorial will be built at Beach Road.[6]

May

• 1 May – The Public Utilities Board is formed to manage electricity, water and gas.[7]
• 25 May – The Ngee Ann College is officially opened, changing name from Ngee Ann Technical College and finally present-day Ngee Ann Polytechnic.[8]

June

• 16 June – The first tree in Singapore is planted in Farrer Circus by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, which is a mempat tree.[9]

July

• 9 July – The 20-point agreement, submitted by North Borneo, was signed by the UK government and representatives of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in the run-up to the creation of the Federation of Malaysia.[10][11]

August

• 8 August – The National Theatre is opened.[12]
• 25 August – A rally was held in City Hall.[13]
• 28 August – A report to improve education was released.[14]
• 31 August – Singapore declared its independence from the United Kingdom, with Yusof bin Ishak as the head of state (Yang di-Pertuan Negara) and Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister; sixteen days later, Singapore would join the Federation of Malaysia, but would declare independence again on 9 August 1965. On the same day, the 1963 State Constitution is adopted.[15][16][17]

September

• 7 September – City Developments Limited is formed as a property group.[18]
• 16 September – Malaysia is formed from Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.[19][20]
• 21 September – The PAP wins the 1963 State Elections, defeating the Barisan Sosialis and UMNO.[21][22]

November

• 13 November – The Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU) is refused registration for being prejudicial to Singapore's national security, leading to its eventual dissolution.[23][24]
• 23 November – Channel 8 is launched as Singapore's second TV channel.[25][26]

Births

• 12 April – Indranee Rajah, Politician.
• 16 April – Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health.
• Ivan Heng – Stage actor, director, founder of W!LD RICE.[27]
• Koh Buck Song – Writer, journalist.[28]
• Heng Siok Tian – Art educator.[29]
• Yang Lina - Actress (d. 2010).[30]

Deaths

• 14 February – Lim Hak Tai – Pioneer artist, art educator (b. 1893).[31]
• 18 August – Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill – Last British director of Raffles Museum (present day National Museum of Singapore) (b. 1911).[32]
• Haji Ambo Sooloh – Businessman of Bugis descent (b. 1891).[33]

References

1. "Goh to open factory". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 5 January 1963. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
2. "Indonesia announces Konfrontasi (Confrontation)". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
3. "Special Branch mounts Operation Coldstore". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
4. Lim Ann Qi, Angela (14 February 1963). "PROGRAMME FOR TV PILOT SERVICE". The Straits Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
5. Lim Ann Qi, Angela (2 April 1963). "Television Singapura The Straits Times". The Straits Times. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
6. "Civilian War Memorial". NLB. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
7. "Public Utilities Board is formed". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
8. "Ngee Ann College opens". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
9. Lam, Lydia (20 May 2015). "On the trail of Mr Lee's trees". Asiaone. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
10. Gungwu Wang (2005). Nation-building: Five Southeast Asian Histories. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 218. ISBN 978-981-230-317-2.
11. "Signing of the Malaysia Agreement". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
12. "National Theatre". NLB. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
13. ""Blood debt" rally is held at City Hall". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
14. "Final report of the Commission of Inquiry into Education". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
15. Stephen McCarthy (18 April 2006). The Political Theory of Tyranny in Singapore and Burma: Aristotle and the Rhetoric of Benevolent Despotism. Routledge. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-134-00332-7.
16. "Lee Kuan Yew declares de facto independence for Singapore". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
17. "1963 State of Singapore Constitution is adopted". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
18. "City Developments Limited is formed". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
19. "Portal Rasmi Arkib Negara Malaysia". www.arkib.gov.my. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
20. "Singapore becomes part of Malaysia". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
21. Albert Lau (2003). A Moment of Anguish: Singapore in Malaysia and the Politics of Disengagement. Eastern Universities Press. ISBN 978-981-210-265-2.
22. "1963 Legislative Assembly General Election". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
23. "Singapore Association of Trade Unions". NLB. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
24. "Govt. says 'no' to Satu bid for federation". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 14 November 1963. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
25. "Singapore's first television station". NLB. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
26. "S'pore TV on two channels from today". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). Retrieved 28 July 2019.
27. "Ivan Heng". NLB. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
28. "Koh Buck Song". NLB. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
29. "Heng Siok Tian". NLB. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
30. Fang, Joy (21 March 2010). "Former Mediacorp actress Yang Lina dies of cancer". AsiaOne. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
31. "Lim Hak Tai". NLB. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
32. "Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill". NLB. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
33. "Haji Ambo Sooloh". NLB. Retrieved 12 November 2019.