15 January – Catherine Lim's novel, Or Else, the Lightning God and Other Stories, is selected for the O Level exams conducted internationally in the 1989 and 1990 edition. This marks the first time Singapore literature is selected for examinations.[1][2]
March
12 March – The MRT system is officially opened, with the opening of a new section from Tiong Bahru to Clementi.[3]
April
April - The first Watsons store opens in Singapore.[4]
22 April – The National Blood Centre is officially opened. The new facilities will have a spacious environment, and can handle 120,000 donors, double the previous premises. The centre can handle national emergencies with mass casualties. In addition, a blood research facility and public health lab will be housed.[5]
8 August – The OUB Centre (present-day One Raffles Place) is officially opened. At 280 metres, it stands as Singapore's tallest building until Guoco Tower's completion in 2016, which stands at 290 metres.[8]
20 December – The fifth section of the MRT is opened from Yishun to Khatib.[16]
Date unknown
The 1988 Singapore Lunar Year of the Dragon 1oz Gold Coin was struck by the Singapore Mint in the year 1988 and belongs to the popular Lunar series of gold bullion coins. Each 24k coin contains 1 troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of gold and is legal tender with a face value of $100[17]
Portek, a medium-sized terminal operator and port equipment engineering provider is founded.[18]
Zoe Tay was crowned the winner in the finals of the inaugural season of the reality television programme Star Search on SBC-8.
^Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1988 (No. 9 of 1988). The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill (No. B 24 of 1987) was read in Parliament for the first time on 30 November 1987. The Second Reading took place on 12 January 1988, and it was referred to a select committee which presented its report on 5 May 1988. The bill was read for the third time and passed on 18 May 1988. It came into force on 31 May 1988.
