A set of four postage stamps will be issued to commemorate the 12th South-East Asia (SEA) Games to be held in Singapore from 28 May to 6 June 1983. The stamps are in four denominations and they depict the four major areas of sports in the Games Programme; namely, ball games (10¢), racket games (35€), athletics (75¢) and swimming ($1).

The SEA Games logo with six intertwined rings to represent the national sports organisations of the six founder member countries of the South-East Asia Peninsular (SEAP) Games, namely Burma, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Laos, Malaya (Malaysia), Thailand and Vietnam is being depicted on the stamps. The intertwining rings denote the unity of purpose in strengthening friendly ties among participating countries in the field of sports. The waves symbolise the common link and the process by which member countries in South-East Asia are brought together.

The membership of the SEAP Games Federation which was founded in 1959 grew to include Singapore (1965) and the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei (1977) and this has brought about a change in the name to South-East Asia (SEA) Games. Singapore hosted the 7th SEAP Games in 1973 and in agreeing to host the 12th SEA Games, Singapore has again demonstrated her faith in the positive role that sports can play in forging the bonds of friendship among participating nations.

The postage stamps will be issued on 28 May 1983 to coincide with the opening ceremony of the 12th SEA Games to be held at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.