 The British Armed Forces maintained a presence in Singapore at the request of the founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew for stability reasons and to allow for a gradual transition to independence and self-reliance.After the end of the Malayan Emergency and "Konfrontasi", the British military gradually withdrew during the 1960s and 1970s, with the infrastructure turned over to the fledgling Singapore Armed Forces.As a result of the long historical relationship, English is one of Singapore's 4 official languages (see Singapore English).