They are arguing that living in Singapore is more like living in Moscow than in Zurich.
Not living up to Zurich standards is not indicative of "Third World" status. Zurich - a bankers' haven of maybe 400,000 people - may be the most wealthy city in the world.
Singaporeans have a higher cost of living than Muscovians - an apartment in Moscow is cheaper than an apartment in Singapore, a used car is cheaper in Moscow than in Singapore - but they also have a much higher average wage.
Moscow is one of the highest crime cities in the developed world. Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates of any city in the world.
The quality of life in Moscow - which is not a Third World city - is much lower than in Singapore.
There is a reason why half a million people from the developed West work and live in Singapore - because the standard of living there is up to the standard to which they are accustomed.
And their source is hard numbers from Swiss bank UBS. "Singaporeans have a low purchasing power of only 39.9, comparable to Kuala Lumpur (39.5), Warsaw (34.0) and Bogota (33.7). [...] the ordinary Malaysian citizen has about the same domestic purchasing power as the Singaporean."