1985

A recession hits Singapore. The government cuts employer contributions to CPF by 60%.
Theatreworks is founded.
The government objects to articles in two magazines of Dow Jones & Co: The Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. This begins a vendetta of several years in which LKY engages in accusations of libel and criminal contempt.
Car park coupons introduced.
Merlion Week is introduced by the Tourist Promotion Board: week of celebrations, including dance and carnival events.
Lee Hsien Loong marries Ho Ching.
DPM Ong Ten Cheong in first begins to discuss the economic incentives to learn Mandarin in the Speak Mandarin Campaign.
Siah Heng Meng, former Rediffusion Teochew-language newscaster, manages to host his first Mandarin programme after two years learning the language. He eventually returns to reading the news in Teochew in the late 90s when the government relaxes its policy on dialect on radio.
The government finally gives an explanation for arresting Chia Thye Poh (former Barisan Socialis MP, 1963-66) after his involvement in a 1966 Vietnam War protest. The Minister of Home Affairs accuses Chia of having infiltrated the Barisan Socialis to destablilise the government through "Communist united-front activities".
Kuo Pao Kun submits proposal for the Substation arts space.
Tiger Balm Gardens is converted into the amusement park Haw Par Villa.
First local HIV infection reported.
“Fried Rice Paradise” album released.
NETS is introduced as the first mode of cashless payment by DBS, Keppel Bank, OCBC, OUB, POSB, Tat Lee Bank and UOB.
Peter Lim Keng Beng aka Ah Huat murders two people, including one police officer in the March “Chicken Eater” shooting and in December. His elusiveness and use of disguise breed rumours that he is a deadly master of muay thai and an arms dealer to Malaysia. He is also a fan of crime novels. He seeks refuge in a leper colony in 1986, and moves from location to location before finally being shot by the police before breakfast on May 3, 1988.
28 March: Devan Nair resigns under unclear circumstances: “Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew stated in Parliament that Nair resigned to get treatment for alcoholism, a charge Nair hotly denied. According to Nair's counterclaim, he resigned under pressure when their political views came into conflict and Lee threatened to seek a motion in parliament to oust him as president. Nair also alleged that he was fed drugs to make him appear disoriented, and rumours were spread about his personal life in an attempt to discredit him.”
30 August: Wee Kim Wee becomes President.
2 December: The Pan Electric Crisis. Pan Electric Industries fails to meet a $7.3 million loan repayment instalment, triggering panic among the financial community. When the market reopens on 5 December, the market index drops 82 points; the record single-day drop of the time. The majority shareholder Tan Koon Swan aka Tan Chin Koon is arrested some months later and arrested for criminal breach of trust, fined $500,000 and jailed for two years.