In October 2000, the prime minister was in Cambridge to speak in a conference to draw high-tech investments to Malaysia. In one of the sessions, Noordin Sopiee pointed out that 50 years ago Malaya was the top in Asia in terms of per capita income. Japan was then devastated after World War Two.

This is a little known fact among the current generation of Malaysians. Noordin should know such things as he earned his PhD in economics from the London School of Economics, one of the finest in the world. However, one may argue that the wealth was then in the hand of our colonial masters.

In 1955, the Tunku was elected the first chief minister and in 1957, the country inherited some of the best infrastructures and government systems outside of Europe and North America. The railway, road and port system, the system of local government administration, the court system and judiciary, the education system and a highly respected university. The Korean War had helped pushed tin and rubber prices to very high levels while the country was the world's top producer of both during those years.

Two generations down the road, the scenario has changed.

In March this year, at the 10th Asia Pacific Investors Forum in Singapore, John Lintjer - who is vice-president of the Asian Development Bank - in his speech titled ' Perspectives on Asian Development and its Financing ' said: "Only a handful of developing economies in the region - namely, Hong Kong, China; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Singapore; and Taipei, China - are enjoying a relatively high level of per capita income, ranging from a minimum of US$3,000 (a different source mentions US$3,640) for Malaysia to the highest at US$26,000 for Hong Kong, China and Singapore."

From being the top in Asia, we are now behind Japan, the five countries mentioned above and also Brunei in terms of per capita income in this region. We barely qualify to be included among the "relatively high level of per capita income" countries. Are we doing well?

There are more embarrassments.

In BusinessWeek , Michael Shari's interview with Hal Hill of the Australian National University titled ' Behind Malaysia's Economic Miracle - the making of an economic development success story ', the don said: "(Malaysia) has been a country that has grown quickly in labour-intensive areas. But it can't really go on forever just keeping to a low-wage strategy. Malaysia is about where Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea were in the late 80s..."

From a position way ahead of these countries in the 50s, we are now some 20 years behind. Are we doing well?

We enjoy beating our neighbour down south given the slightest chance. But we don't have many such chances these days.

In an article ' Competing with Singapore - Republic's downturn offers opportunities for Malaysia to compete ' by Johan Jaafar, the former editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia , wrote in Singapore-based regional website LittleSpeck.com:

"There is only one way to 'beat' Singapore - to ensure excellence in everything we do. ...(Singapore) also has world-class physical infrastructure like its airport and port. ...With a per capita income of RM80,674, Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world, in comparison to Malaysia's per capita income of only RM13,995. This is the best time for us to compete with Singapore. We can do what Singapore has done if we are prepared to change our current approach."

The writer should know that we had our chance. When he said "to ensure excellence in everything we do", he implied that we had not put in our best effort. We were already at the top of Asia before oil and gas were discovered off Terengganu, and Sabah and Sarawak were yet to be part of Malaysia.

Over the past two decades, with these resources added to our already richly endowed nation, we have continued our slide down the league table of economic wealth. Johan wrote: "We can do what Singapore has done ...".

Singapore has beaten us largely with the help of talents sourced from Malaysia. At one time over half their cabinet were Malaysian born. Malaysians used to and continue to run their award-winning airline, ports, university departments and what else.

Johan is absolutely right to conclude "... if we are prepared to change our current approach".