SINGAPORE, Aug 31 — A "smear campaign” involving "pretty girls”, a cyclist disrupting a walkabout that ended with the police being called in, and a gripe over who had the better resources and preparation time to quickly put up campaign banners and posters were just some of the things that preoccupied social media users in the lead-up to the Presidential Election.

Barring any other last-minute distractions, Singapore heads into a "cooling-off” period that starts after midnight on Wednesday, for voters heading to the polls to think and reflect on the messages and issues raised by the three candidates during the nine days of campaigning.

Polling stations will open on Friday — a public holiday — for voting from 8am to 8pm.

Ng Kok Song, 75, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, and Tan Kin Lian 75, had worked the ground in the race to the Istana, the official residence and office of the President of Singapore.

The candidates kept to the advice of the Election Department Singapore (ELD) and plugged into online and media channels to complement their walkabouts.

ELD had discouraged physical rallies, stressing the need to ensure that hustings were in line with the "dignity and decorum” of the office of the President, but this did not stop things from heating up.

The trio had plenty to say to convince Singaporeans to vote for them, from social issues such as society’s attitude towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the mental health and aspirations of the youth, to political concerns such as the "independence” of presidential candidates in relation to the political parties they had served.

There was also what political watchers noted may be a stoking of anti-foreigner sentiment when the spouse of a candidate became a topic of discussion, as well as a call for candidates not to polarise voters and politicise the election.

TODAY stepped away from the heat of the campaign trail to revisit some of the no less substantial points that each candidate had raised on the various key roles and responsibilities of the President and what they had pledged to do.

On safeguarding reserves

Tharman described his past experiences, including as deputy prime minister and finance minister, to be a "huge advantage” and unique to him compared to the other two candidates if he were to be elected.

He even said that "no one can fool me on any matter to do with government finances”.

Tan said that his experience in growing the assets of NTUC Income insurance cooperative when he was chief executive officer there would put him in good stead in safeguarding the country’s financial reserves.

He also wants the President’s role to include the power to set investment policy for building reserves.

He later on said that he would "prefer” for the exact figure in Singapore’s reserves to be revealed to the public, adding that he believes the chances of a foreign attack on the Singapore dollar are "quite small”.

The remark elicited a response from Ng, former chief investment officer of sovereign wealth fund GIC, who described it as a "very dangerous position to take” and "helping our enemies”.

On his part, Ng said that he would like to safeguard what he has spent his "entire professional lifetime” helping to build up, saying that the country’s reserves are a "financial defence”.

If ever he were to be asked by the Government to tap past reserves as President during a crisis, Ng said that he would, among other things, query the Government to ensure that it has exhausted other possible sources of funds before agreeing.

On appointing people to key public service positions

Tan said that he wants a balance between scholars and experienced people who "have spent many years on the job and know the ground well” for top roles in the public service.

Besides veto powers over key appointments in the public service, the President also has discretion to elect three of eight members of the Council of Presidential Advisors, which advises the President when he or she has to discharge his or her custodial duties.

Replying to a question by the media, Tan said that he would ask opposition politicians and former presidential candidates Tan Jee Say and Tan Cheng Bock about joining the council if he gets elected, after the duo publicly announced their support for his presidency bid.

Ng rebuked this statement, with his campaign team saying that such a move "could be seen as a moral perversion” of the council.

Much earlier on when announcing his plan to stand for election, Ng said that he was partly motivated to do so upon seeing the "deluge of negative news” that has raised concerns about the "integrity and personal probity of public service holders”.

He also said that he would diligently scrutinise and "ensure the integrity of our public service” if elected, and that he is well-positioned to do so after spending 45 years in public service.

As for Tharman, he emphasised that he has experience "that is not matched by either of the other candidates” when it comes to guarding the national reserves and ensuring the integrity of key public service appointments.

On ‘independence’ of presidential candidates

While acknowledging that he was formerly part of the establishment due to his career in public service, Ng stressed throughout the campaign that he is the sole "non-partisan” candidate with no links to political parties.

He said that all elected presidents so far are either linked to or endorsed by the ruling party, describing this as not being in the "spirit” of the Constitution, and adding that this must change lest every Presidential Election moving forward "becomes a proxy General Election”.

Tharman resigned from the Cabinet and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) just before he made his move to stand for election.

Tan, too, was a member of PAP until 2008, and several opposition figures have stepped in to publicly support his campaign in their own "personal capacity”, casting doubt on his independence, analysts said.

Tan said in his first speech on Nomination Day last Tuesday that he was contesting to give Singaporeans a chance to vote for a candidate who is "truly independent of the ruling Government”.

He said that politicking is a "waste of time”, which can be better spent on finding solutions to solve citizens’ problems, regardless of which party offered the solution.

For Tharman, he has consistently urged the electorate not to look at the election through a "political lens”. Simplifying things down to a matter of past political links would have precluded individuals such as former President Ong Teng Cheong or Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a presidential candidate, from even contesting and "weaken the system”.

In a contest of leadership, it is the person’s character and track record of being independent that matter the most, he added.

Other roles of the president

Tharman has campaigned on the need to deepen mutual respect among different groups of Singaporeans as the society becomes more diverse and that this is what he would advocate in carrying out the President’s role as a unifying figure.

Tan at various points of his campaign have said that he’d like to "influence” or work with the Government to address particular issues such as the cost of living.

On two televised platforms aired by news channel CNA, he said that it was important for Singaporeans to be financially secure before they can have "more time to think beyond themselves... then they (can) become more unified”.

Ng said that his position as a politically neutral figure puts him in a better position to unify Singaporeans. He also said that he would like to encourage "more interracial help” between groups, on top of many existing initiatives that have focused help for ethnic communities.

As for representing Singapore internationally, Ng said that he has "travelled extensively” and has good connections with the global business fraternity and world leaders due to his work in GIC.

For Tharman, besides highlighting the various roles that he has held in global bodies, he said that it was also important for the President to "work closely with the Government to know what Singapore’s interests are” in order to represent the nation effectively.

As for Tan, he gave the example of how he made the effort to understand the culture, history and languages of the countries he travelled to when he was part of an international federation of insurance companies. — TODAY