Singapore’s recent troubles with neighbours had made it up to even the New York Times. According to an Indonesian legislator quoted in that article in the NYT, in the eyes of our neighbours, Singapore is an “arrogant economic giant, which is prepared to use its financial muscle to undermine neighboring countries“.

Indonesia is perhaps not the first country to have called Singapore “arrogant”. The former PM of Malaysia, Dr Mahatir, has been branding Singapore as an arrogant country for decades. Is Singapore, really that arrogant as our neighbour make us out to be? Frankly, I don’t think so. It’s all a matter of perception.

Singapore has achieved tremendous economic success relative to its neighbours, despite being so much smaller in size. And, this is a fact that Singapore’s leaders trumpet from time to time. I don’t see anything wrong with doing that, What is wrong with being proud of one’s achievements? Malaysia has boasted about it Multimedia Super Corridor, Twin Towers and Tanjong Pelapas. Did Singapore call Malaysia arrogant? No.

Then why is it that Singapore is being accused of arrogance? What exactly constitutes arrogance anyway? Is there some fixed definition of arrogance, or is arrogance more subjective than definitive? Another example of Singapore’s arrogance that has been often cited is our insistence on following laws and honouring contractual obligations. This is something that I never got. Even honouring our word, and asking for people to honour theirs is arrogance? Huh?

Perhaps things work differently in our neighbouring countries. So, let’s just leave it as that. People are different. Why are people trying to impose their standards on us? Why can’t we put aside the differences and work on the commonalities? Today, PM Lee was quoted as saying in Japan that the sand ban by Indonesia hurts both sides. It’s true. Singapore suffers from higher construction costs, while thousands of people mining sand lose their livelihoods. And, if Singapore decided to become more self-reliant as a result (as we did with water), an economic opportunity disappears needlessly.

Let us all not confuse pride and arrogance. It does nobody any good. It would be so much better to pat each other’s back for our respective achievements and inspire each other towards greater heights. Accusing each other of arrogance and using petty means to hobble each other is not only unhelpful. It’s juvenile.