A colleague of mine- an economic historian who specialises in British Malaya and Singapore- remarked to me over tea recently that because she had spent so much time based in Singapore doing research, that "Singapore feels like home" to her.

I nearly choked on my tea in disbelief but instead caught myself and covered up by taking another sip and peering at her over the rim of the cup. She was somewhere distant, her eyes reflecting inward and a slight smile on her face, her coffee mug cupped in her hands, probably swimming in the memories of Singapore and Malaysia.

While I have no doubt she meant her remark in all sincerity, and might even have meant it as a compliment to Singapore, I doubt she realised just how that remark would touch a nerve in a Singaporean. Singapore is, without a doubt, extremely welcoming to you- if you're highly educated, foreign, and white. You're free to enjoy all the benefits of our colonial hangover without having any responsibilities as a citizen. It's not unique to Singapore, of course- I would guess that white people are treated differently from locals in most Asian and African former colonies. Whether that is deferential treatment, or visceral hatred, or just acknowledgement of difference, I think a colonialist mentality- a consciousness of the colonial subject, who creates in his or her mind a vast category of the white person as the 'Superior' and 'Other'- continues to plague our subconscious and determines how we treat them.

In Singapore, our situation as lacking in natural resources and having only location and talent to help us means that our government has chosen a path of attracting the best talent to Singapore in order to try and short-cut a path to prosperity. Think of us as Chelsea FC and our government as Roman Abramovitch. We've brought in all this 'foreign talent' at excessive prices, treated them like they were kings, and in the process made it difficult for the equivalent local to break into the first team. Then we're told we should welcome this foreign talent because it means our team is now wildly successful.

It's not the foreign talent's fault. They are doing what is best for them. They are seeking better lives for themselves, at high pay, cheap prices and in a place where they are treated well. Who can blame them? And yet I doubt that they can understand the circumstances they are in.

All this ran through my mind as I sat in the Octagon with my colleague, peering at her over my tea. I decided that she could not understand how upset many of us are over this issue and that she might never understand. I pondered what she meant by 'feels like home'. Perhaps I had misunderstood her. I watched her mind wander, and I watched her return to the present. Then I changed the subject.