Young leaders led the fight decades ago as Singapore gained independence and took critical decisions giving the city-state its modern, cosmopolitan thrust, but that led to a "happy state where in a sense, the youth don't have a huge cause of epic proportions to fight for", Dr Balakrishnan said.

The acting minister for community development, youth and sports said this was a "dangerous' state for the youth as they could decide that since there is nothing big to fight for they can just focus on "narrow issues, which in a capitalist system will simply mean aggrandising wealth for themselves".

Asian personalities from different spheres are participating in the two-day Young Leaders Forum organised by the Asia News Network and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The ANN is a group of 14 leading newspapers in the region with a combined readership of about 50 million. Its members include The Daily Star of Bangladesh, the China Daily, Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan, The Statesman of India, The Star and Sin Chew Daily of Malaysia, The Nation of Thailand and The Jakarta Post of Indonesia.

In Singapore's case, he said, government efforts to teach them a global language -- English -- in an educational system that is universally recognised and giving them assets has created a mobile, young force with 'wings to fly'.

The need now is to remind the youth of their obligations but, he said, appealing to the current generation will not be easy.

"We need to find a way to tell our young that there are even more opportunities … they can use this place as a launch pad to bring up family, to park their assets, to invest in."

"A new political contract needs to be established between the people and the political system," Dr Balakrishnan said.

Malaysian deputy prime minister and chairman of Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, Tan Sri Musa Hitam, and Prof Ang Peng Hwa from the Nanyang Technological University were among the speakers.

Guest speaker Musa said the next 10 years would see the rise of China and India as epicentres of economic growth.

"China will, by the end of the decade, come out on top demonstrating that a disciplined form of government with democracy gradually infused, works."

He also warned that the experiments in Asia with "loosening up' -- if not accompanied by economic prosperity -- could see the emergence of "politics of fear".

"Issues relating to ethnicity, religion and identity would be exploited which would bring nothing disorder and chaos."

The forum continues today with sessions on the economic and cultural future of the region.

Musa has cautioned young leaders against viewing the world through blinkered eyes, citing how the idealistic and the loudest tend to end up joining the ranks of the corrupted once they are elected.

Musa spoke of China as a rising force to challenge the United States, not by choice, but by US' default itself.

"It's no secret that the US' real fear is not terrorism or religion but China," he said.

To his mind, the scenario in the coming years was the rise of China and India as the epicentre of economic growth.