The founding father of Singapore is brilliant, visionary, highly articulate and his pronounced views were listened to and sought after by many countries. Moreover, having set Singapore on a successful path of development and coached the People's Action Party, which he founded and led for many years, into a way of thinking about Singapore's future he was still around to express his formidable views even after he resigned in 1990.

Goh Chok Tong succeeded him but has now been replaced by Lee Hsien Loong, son of Lee Kuan Yew. He has appointed his father minister mentor, a cabinet position that was previously unknown, hoping that the elder Lee will be treated as a national resource by other ministers and also that his father will be exposed to the views of younger Singaporeans.

Lee Hsien Loong comes to the job at the age of 52 and his appointment is regarded as part of a younger generation succeeding to power. He is already a widely experienced politician, having been in Parliament for 20 years and serving as deputy prime minister for the past 14, with some spells as finance minister and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country's reserve bank.

He is credited with running a highly successful economy which for many years grew at a rate of 10% a year. The outbreak of Sars knocked it back but in the second quarter of this year the growth was 9.1% higher on a yearly basis measured against the same period last year.

Before entering politics, Lee Hsien Loong was in the army and rose, by the age of 32, to its second-highest position as brigadier-general.

Inevitably, the question has posed itself whether Lee Hsien Loong will be his own man or be a reflection of or under the influence of his father? Furthermore, has he been as successful as he has because he is Lee Kuan Yew's son? The answers are complex.

He is undoubtedly a man in his own right and will not be simply a pale reflection of his father. He has the track record of successful economic management.

He has fronted for the government on all sorts of issues and has a reputation for combative argument, being prepared to stick to the substance of an argument and eschewing a soothing manner to avoid the appearance of conflict.

At the same time he has a reputation for implementing ideas rather than initiating them. He is certainly on the lookout for ideas he thinks might be useful to Singapore but he has thus far not shown himself to be the visionary his father is.

It may be, of course, that having got the top position he will generate more ideas of his own but that does not seem consistent with his career and method of working to date. His father was more instantly recognisable as a politician of conviction.

While Singapore is unlikely to change much under Lee Hsien Loong as prime minister, he is aware there are demands for change in Singapore and is probably more attuned to the social and political ideas of younger people.

He will probably assess these, as he assesses other ideas he comes across, and use them if he thinks they are applicable to Singapore.

He may encourage more but still minor public participation in government decision-making but will be as intolerant as Singapore leaders have traditionally been of much criticism of the government. Those who want to follow a career in crusading journalism would be better to choose another country than Singapore.

Did he get as far as he did because Lee Kuan Yew was his father? It was not bad rising to the position of brigadier-general by the age of 32, nor to rise so quickly to positions of serious power in politics afterward.

Some suspicions exist that he had a remarkably easy ride almost to the very top. As a politician, the rather closed system of Singapore's politics might have favoured him. Even today there are only two opposition politicians in Singapore's Parliament. In other countries he might have been more tested as a politician.

Nevertheless, he is clearly a capable man. He might have had a head start but he still had to demonstrate considerable ability.

Lee Hsien Loong has announced his ministerial line-up. He is retaining the finance portfolio for himself and appointed his immediate predecessor, Mr Goh, to a position as senior minister in which he will cultivate other countries. Lee Hsien Loong intends to concentrate on domestic affairs.

Singapore generally has a reactive foreign policy. It has been praised by the US because of its tough measures against terrorism but interestingly enough, when Donald Rumsfeld, the US secretary of defence, was on a visit to Singapore, it was the affable Mr Goh who told him in very clear terms that the support the US was perceived as giving to Israel in the Israel-Palestinian conflict was causing problems for Southeast Asian nations with their Muslim citizens.

Lee Hsien Loong recently upset China by visiting Taiwan. He came away reportedly worried lest President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan upset the peace of the region by provoking China through his demands for the independence of Taiwan ­ a fear expressed in different terms several years ago by his father.

Stuart McMillan is an adjunct senior fellow in the school of political science and communication at the University of Canterbury

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