I write in response to Arun's accusation that Singapore had bribed investors away from Malaysia. I find it strange that despite the decades of progress that Malaysia had made in terms of trade in the global arena, it is unable to shake off that parochial mentality that the world somehow owes it to Malaysia. Why is it that Singapore must be that bogey?

In the recent National Day speech by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, his concern was China, not Malaysia. Every country has its own right to determine policies that will see more inflow of investments and just because Malaysia failed on that account, that does not mean it's the end of the world.

When container giants Maersk and Evergreen made the switch to Johor, did anyone in Malaysia hear Singapore cry foul? Not at all, because having been exposed to the capital economy for so long, we accepted competition to be the norm, in fact many Singaporeans blamed the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) for its failure to quickly respond to the regional challenges.

I hope Malaysians who take the view of Arun will wise up because given the geopolitical sentiment of this region, the new economic giant, as I've pointed out earlier, China will overshadow the insignificant Asean. There must be this shedding of petty attitude that Singapore is to be blamed for every failure of Malaysia, including the financial crisis.

Oh yes, I am a Singaporean.