They also don’t have a certain demographic which tends to drag us down.
Not true. See my post #9. While the Malays, on average, are nowhere near as ambitious as the ethnic Chinese majority, they are still overwhelmingly employed at low paying menial jobs which still provides stability. Singapore is no place for slackards and the cost of living can be pretty low if you aren't too fussy about where you live.
Their cousins on the Malaysian side of the straight are so envious that they are the major source of Singapore's illegal immigration problem.
Compared to us, illegal immigration is still laughably low, probably on a scale of nannies from Europe on a per capita basis. The reason is that Singapore actually enforces their laws and borders.
The slummy areas in Singapore are actually a cut or two above the working class areas of Brooklyn or Queens.