Got this while researching on my debate topic:

Meritocracy is a double edged sword in Singapore. While meritocracy creates an egalitarian system for anyone who works hard to succeed, most Singaporeans have compromised quality with speed and efficiency and this kind of attitude is also illustrated in the lack of innovation and service culture from Singaporeans. The Singaporean does not care whether quality is important, all he/she wants is to get the thing done without thinking and bring the dough back home.

Biased view? I don't know. But it carries some form of truth. I wrote a post on this some time ago...criticising the meritocracy system, hah.