"I think he is prepared to take over," he told the Straits Times with a laugh. "I'm not ready to give up yet."

Political analysts believed Mr Lee, 48, was prepared to take over from Mr Goh nine years ago when the Prime Minister stumbled politically just 12 months after assuming office.

After the 1991 general election, in which the opposition had increased its representation in Parliament from one to four members, Mr Goh looked so visibly shattered on television that he embarrassed his supporters. Rumours spread swiftly that he would soon be succeeded by his deputy, who is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's tough first prime minister.

From the time Mr Goh succeeded Lee Kuan Yew, who remained in cabinet as Senior Minister, some analysts said he was only a seat-warmer for Mr Lee Jnr, who was "waiting in the wings" to take his place. But if Mr Goh's political career was under threat from the Senior Minister's son at that time, by the end of the year the younger Mr Lee's own future in politics was seriously in doubt.

Mr Lee, who is known as B. G. Lee, from his army rank of brigadier-general, was diagnosed with lymphoma. The usually stern and steadfast Senior Minister was clearly shaken by his son's illness, which he described as a "bolt from the blue".

Senior Minister Lee writes proudly of the achievements of his two sons and daughter in his memoirs, but Loong, as he calls his first-born, wins especially high praise. With his first-class honours in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, and a postgraduate diploma in computer science, he would have no doubt found a rewarding niche for himself in Singapore even if his father had not been prime minister.

His cancer was the second traumatic development in Mr Lee Jnr's life to rock the family after events surrounding the birth of a boy to his Malaysian-Chinese wife Ming Yang in 1982. Commenting that life was "not without its tragedies", Senior Minister Lee wrote in the second volume of his memoirs: "[The child] was an albino and visually handicapped. Three weeks later, Ming Yang died of a heart attack. Loong's world collapsed."

Mr Lee Jnr recovered from the tragedy and remarried. He also recovered from his illness, after chemotherapy treatment, and has been given a clean bill of health.

But by the time he was taking on a full load of work again, Mr Goh had settled into the job of Prime Minister and was firmly in charge. He hardened his political stance, to the approval of Senior Minister Lee.

Mr Goh did not indicate last week exactly when he would retire. Mr Lee Jnr could be waiting in the wings for another six years.