Complacency led Malaysia to trail other Asian countries, but the younger generation can change this, said Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

According to him, this is the message he had put forth to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"I'm not saying we're in a bad situation but we could have done better.

"We could have contributed to become the leader in Asia, number one, beating the Koreans (but) because we were complacent and we don't have the hunger (we fell behind)," he told a forum titled 'The Talk: Inspiring Today's Talent' in Cyberjaya this morning.

Mohd Irwan said he advised the prime minister on the need to focus on youths in order to achieve a high-income nation status.

"I told him, 'sir, you can't do it fast, you need to find certain ways'.

"We need to tackle the youngsters, aged 18 to 30. This is the group who are going to be leaders tomorrow.

" That's you. This nation is in your hands. We need to put the right mindset (in the youths)," he told his audience, comprising some 300 university students.

Mohd Irwan warned that the country would continue to stagnate if it does not move forward.

"Indonesia and Vietnam are going to overtake us, like what South Korea did in the 70s," he pointed out.

The Treasury secretary-general also said that another way for Malaysia to "go back to the limelight of being number one in Asia" is for everyone to work together.

"It's not too late if everybody works together - all agencies, ministries, the private sector.

"If we really work hard and be futuristic in our thinking, we can return to the limelight again," he added.