MALAYSIANS who are young adults now will be the first generation to enjoy the benefits of a high-income economy come 2020, the country's second finance minister observed, referring to this emerging powerful lot as Malaysia's "baby boomers".

Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, in his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2012 here yesterday, highlighted that much like American baby boomers - a post-World War 2 generation of people born between 1946 and 1964 that today control 80 per cent of their nation's personal assets and more than half of its disposable income - Malaysian baby boomers will be the largest and wealthiest demographic category this country has ever had in about a decade.

He noted that a census in the year 2010 revealed that one-third of Malaysia's population was between the ages of 15 and 29, born between 1980 and 1995. There was a decline in the birth rate after 2000.

"In 10 years' time, this demographic bulge of Malaysian baby boomers will enjoy the benefits of a high-income economy. Their influence would be just as profound as their American counterparts," he said.

Pointing out that it will be the baby boomers that determine the shape of the country's economy, society and politics for the next half-century, he voiced the concern as to whether they will maintain Malaysian values and ethics that have been passed down through the ages.

"In those simpler days, whenever the government wanted to instill a value in the general public, all that required were a slogan, a number of posters and billboards and an upbeat song that were played over and over again by RTM. There was little competition. The government had practically all the space to itself," Husni recalled.

He acknowledged that things are different now, with there being more "voices" in the public forum than before. While such campaigns are still relevant, their results are "inconsistent" and the government can no longer claim to be the single biggest determinant in shaping values.

"The government has much to contend with. This new baby boom middle-class, with their expanded knowledge and higher confidence, will be the most vocal and the most cynical group of citizens, more so than any of their previous generations," he remarked.

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