Original: English had been the administrative language of the colonial government , and when Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965 , the local government decided to keep English as the working language in order to maximize economic prosperity and because '' with English , no race would have an advantage .
Simplified: English had been the administrative language of the colonial government , and when Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965 , the local government decided to keep English as the working language .