Singapore is always looking to be number 1 and that itself is not a bad thing. While we are striving to be number 1, we must not neglect the basic fundamental purpose of communal living and manners.
It is just like working in an organization. Many want to achieve a lot of awards not understanding what benefits they bring. 1st they try ISO 90002 thinking it was a quality stamp, then they go for 14K, 18K and so on. They found they are these are so easy to obtain and then People Developer, SQA, SQC, etc. Then they found out that actually the staff is struggling daily maintaining the certifications because none of the procedures belong to them! It was cut and paste done by the consultants to achieve the certification.
So Singapore, let's get our basis right and let the citizen be happy. Never mind that we are not number 1 or advanced developed country. What is the point of being number 1 for the sake of 10% Singaporean? Be number 5 for 80% of the happy Singaporean.