Responding to a question about the "soft power" wielded by the President to influence government policy, Tharman opined that it "depended entirely" on the President's relationship with the Prime Minister.

"If they have respect for each other, then of course the President will have a greater ability to be able to provide independent advice and know that it is taken seriously," he said.

The presidential candidate was on a walkabout at Toa Payoh Hub on Aug. 23 when he took questions from the media.

Earlier in the day, fellow candidate Tan Kin Lian had spoken about how he would use the office of the President to convey "the feelings" and "the aspirations of the people".

In addition, Ng Kok Song said that he hoped to use his presidency to speak out on issues of concern to Singaporeans such as the transportation of migrant workers in lorries.

No big advantage

Tharman also addressed queries over whether he had a significant advantage over the other candidates in terms of manpower available to him.

"Actually, I've spent a lot of time in the last month, with my team, mobilising volunteers," he said.

"I don't think I have any big advantage, to be frank. We all come in with positives of our own as the three candidates [...] I'm not taking anything for granted. I think it's going to be a real contest and I'm taking it very seriously," he added later.

Residents in Singapore may have noticed his posters popping up all over the island shortly after Nomination Day (Aug. 22).

According to Tharman, he wanted to convey a message directly to those who are not on social media and that posters were necessary in Singapore's electoral landscape.

"The reality is that many people don't have access to social media. We wanted to show that the presidential elections are important."

Insisted on sustainability

Additionally, sustainability was something that he had insisted on when it came to the posters, Tharman shared.

He said that the papers used are Forest Stewardship Council-certified — an international organisation that certifies sustainable forestry practices — and the ink is soy-based.

"We have a recycling plan for the paper and the plastics. So for instance, the big plastic boards — we cut off the rough edges and reused them as smaller boards. So we've been very conscious of this from day one, without busting our whole budget, we've built sustainability into this whole process from day one."

Speaking to the media at Amoy Street Food Centre on Aug. 23, Ng questioned the need to make posters and banners, which he called "environmentally unfriendly".

He also touched on his lack of the resources needed to "hang up posters on lampposts all over the island".

Top image from Mothership