I refer to the letter 'I curse the day I was born a Singaporean' .

First of all, I would like to remind Brazil that Singapore is indeed a fantastic place to be born. Acco ‘The Economist’ Intelligence Unit's 2005 Quality of Life survey ranked it the best country to live in Asia. In fact, in global rankings Singapore did better than the US, Japan, France, Britain, Germany and a host of developed, wealthy countries. Singapore is wealthy, peaceful, progressive and spared of natural or manmade disasters.

Malaysia falls behind Singapore in almost any meaningful measure - per capita GDP (nominal or PPP), average wage, quality of life, standard of living, human development, productivity, efficiency, economic freedom, ease of doing business, you name it.

One would imagine that with our national obsession with wealth distribution, Malaysia would do better than the ultra-capitalistic Singapore. In reality, Singapore ranks higher in terms of the Gini coefficient (a measure of income equality) in separate studies by the UN and the CIA.

Can you then blame Malaysians for looking enviously at their next door neighbour? We were equals just a 40 years ago, but look at the differences now!

I am not saying that Singapore is without its problems. Indeed, there is no one perfect country in this world. Every country from the war-torn Muslim countries to the wealthy West, all have their own set of problems to deal with. However, some countries are clearly doing better than others.

Singapore is clearly doing better than Malaysia who is in turn doing better than Indonesia. It is then almost insulting for someone from a rich and advanced nation to gripe about their issues and envy their poorer counterparts.

I don't think any sane Malaysian would complain about our government to friends from Iran. We shut up and listen to their complaints, for no matter how bad we are, we are clearly better off than them. In the same sense, I don't think any Singaporean should tell a Malaysian how Singapore isn't really much better.

Perhaps the most telling evidence of our relative strengths are the immigration patterns. How often do you see Singaporeans permanently migrating to Malaysia (for reasons other than retirement?) Contrast that to the thousands who make Singapore their permanent home yearly.

My second point is on immigration. Unlike most people, I think immigration is fantastic. I like diversity and multi-culturalism. I like people, and I like to know their lifestyles, their cultures and their beliefs. I like that I can enjoy authentic food from all parts of the world without having to leave my neighbourhood.

I am sure the average xenophobe, when he drops his emotional hatred and instead looks at the positives, will learn to appreciate the cultural richness of the world. No one culture in the world is superior and I live in continuous awe of the sheer diversity that is this Earth.

It saddens me that certain people in the world are treated with more respect than others just because of the colour of their skin. It saddens me even more that some people actually think they are superior or that they deserve certain rights just because they were lucky enough to be born into a particular nationality, race, family or gender.

It angers me that Malaysian politics revolves around ethnic rights (Umno, Hindraf etc) when in reality the only right we should have is the right to work smart, work hard and be duly rewarded for it.

Take for example recent threats by Malaysian ministers against foreigners driving taxis in Johor Baru. I am sure all Johorians will agree with me when I say that most taxi drivers in JB are both lazy and greedy. They sit at the coffee-shops all day sipping coffee yet complain that they can't make a living. They grossly overcharge and are grossly under-worked.

Now if a foreigner is willing to work when the Malaysian is not, is not greedy when the Malaysian is, why deny him a fair go just because of where he was born? Did he choose to be born where he was born? Did the foreigner do something wrong? Does being born in Malaysia automatically give one the right to lead a better life than those born in Indonesia and Bangladesh?

I currently work for a decent wage and I believe I do my job fairly well. However, if someone else came to compete for my job, would I demand to keep it based on my nationality, gender or race? I won't. I will double my efforts and show my employer why I am better than anyone else.

Failing that, I will happily cede my position to whoever is better than me. There is absolutely no reason why my nationality should even be an issue to consider!

I can understand why some people can feel threatened or displeased with immigration, but I would urge them to resist that xenophobic tendency. I recently read an American professor explain that since the 1600s, each batch of immigrants to America has tried to keep the next batch of immigrants out.

What a condemnation of human nature that we cannot live at peace with people different from us. If we could only look beyond where someone was born and embrace the diversity that has been bestowed upon us.

My hope is that Brazil recognises just how lucky he/she is to be born in Singapore and how priviledged it is to share one's country with the rest of the world. True, Singapore like any country is not paradise. But it certainly is much better than most parts of the world.