"Nothing is ever a done deal," he avers.

"To be prime minister, you have to have the support of the voters and the confidence of the members of parliament, that's how the system works.

"And just who will to succeed Mr Goh Chok Tong as prime minister? Well, that's for the MPs to decide . . . In politics, you have to establish yourself, prove yourself, and continue to win support at every stage."

The eldest of Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew's three children, Lee, 50, in effect is being groomed to be a future leader.

Like his father, Singapore's legendary post-war leader who remains the island state's guiding force, he was a scholar at Cambridge University, where he excelled in mathematics and computer science, graduating in 1974 with First Class Honours.

He entered politics at the age of 32 after a career in the Singapore Armed Forces - where he rose to the rank of brigadier-general - and has been re-elected four times.

He was appointed deputy prime minister by Prime Minister Goh in November 1990 with responsibilities that include economics and civil matters.

In November 2001, he was made the concurrent minister of finance.

Singaporeans themselves seem to be eagerly awaiting the successor to Goh - a man seemingly overwhelmed with many "hats" of responsibility.

They want to know what foreign visitors think of the "DPM". Well, by appearance he is a pretty relaxed type - but with a sense of mission about minute details.

Says Lee about the economy: "We are making some basic changes because we are at a turning point. The world has changed, not just because of 9/11 but because the US economy is into a new phase which sees much slower growth than before.

"China is coming up very strongly. Southeast Asia for the time being is not at the centre of the investors' radar screen."

And on development: "Singapore has become more developed, with a higher standard of living, and so it's more difficult to have the old strategies work in the same way. Because you cannot just expand, you have to upgrade, you have to change. And you have to be much more flexible in a very rapidly evolving situation.

"So we have to shift our policies and more than our policies, we have to shift our mindset and approach of the people. [Singaporeans] have to depend less on the government and more on themselves, to be entrepreneurial, take the opportunities and pick up the ball and run."

Lee chairs several national committees - one of which is the economic review committee which is spearheading Singapore to a new development mode.

The "reinventing" Singapore plan, as many call it, has the goal of making Singaporeans more creative, more versatile and more mobile as far as job changes are concerned, and more prepared to venture into new realms and accept mistakes.

Adds Lee: "The other part is social and political, encouraging debate, discussion, widening out-of-bounds markers so people will participate more, and we welcome that.

"They would like greater leeway to express their views, agree or disagree or argue issues. I think it's already happening. But it's something which we have to manage because this is still a multiracial society. We need to be conscious of differences in race, language and religion."

But in a warning that was obviously directed at opposition politicians and critics of the government, he defined the limits: "[If] you are prepared to express your views, you must also be prepared to defend your views."

"It cannot be that you are standing in the sanctuary throwing stones and then when we want to explain and answer, you say sorry this is non-political, I am entitled to express my views. We have to have a robust exchange as otherwise we may come to the wrong conclusion."

Asked whether he is frustrated that Asean does not seem to be going ahead fast enough economically for the pace-setting Singaporeans, Lee said the Southeast Asian grouping is moving along, although Singapore wishes it would pick up some momentum.

But it has to be accepted that Asean operates on the basis of consensus, he says, and therefore it is not possible to force the pace because different countries have different perspectives and pre-occupations.

"The fact that we have Afta [Asean Free Trade Agreement] coming into effect on the 1st of January is already a step forward but we cannot stop there, we have to go forward," he adds.

Lee says he would like to see Asean further develop in the investment area in order to make the region more attractive.

Then there are ideas on developing free trade links with Japan, China and possibly the US.

"Afta will cover goods, but services is more sensitive, more complicated.

"But we have to integrate and adapt, because these are big parts of our economy," he says.

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