Confused

The powers of the President is in accordance with that prescribed by the constitution; that is clear to me. However I am quite confused as to what ELSE the President can do, such vagueness being caused by conflicting claims and promises made by the 4 presidential candidates.

Tan Kin Lian’s claim that more things can be done creates in my mind a picture of him hen pecking the government and wearing them out. (eg. He quoted issues like compensating the NS men more ). He jolly well knows that the President has no executive powers but sill maintains that we have to be positive. He said "If I were a Member of Parliament, I'd be just one out of more than 80 MPs ... But as the President, I think the issues I bring up would have better influence." Guess which pot is calling the kettle black when he commented on Tan Jee Say being a President who will spend his time quarrelling with the government when elected.

Although I will dismiss both the pot and the kettle, I am quite confused over how much influence a President can have on the government. Unless I form an opinion of this, it would be difficult for me to decide on my vote.

Tony Tan said that president wannabes should not dream of a post that does not exist. I agree with him that the Presidency is not the platform to confront the ruling party on their policies. However I do not really fully understand what he meant when he said that the President has a very important role especially during a period of global economic instability. He alluded to the significant role of the President being a custodian of the reserves. Are we supposed to be wary of an inexperienced President who will veto the ruling party’s proposal to draw on the reserves to tie over a financial storm? Drawing upon the reserves do not seem to be an issue with the opposition parties. The contention from the opposition parties is more on whether the President has the true power to check on the reserves. Is Tony Tan than alluding to the need for an experienced President who will not cause unnecessary trouble asking to open and check the books of the reserve?

Tan Cheng Bok’s claim that if elected he will exert his influence behind closed doors sounds quite reasonable. If so, does it mean that such influence is confined to areas associated to the rights of the President, or can such influence encompass issues in general? If the answer is the former, it would seem Tony Tan would be a better choice given his financial experience. If however the President can really exert influence over all matters Tan Cheng Bok may perhaps be a better candidate as I think he may be more vocal.

Well….only got a few more days to think through.
It doesn't help however when:
1) Singapore’s Law Minister K Shanmugam said Singapore would need to change the Constitution to allow the President to speak whenever he likes and on whatever topic he likes; and
2) Lee Hsien Loong said "But even beyond the custodial powers, more generally it is important for the President to work with the Government and the Government keeps the President informed on all important matters....we consider very carefully the President’s views, although under the system the final decision is made by the Cabinet."

??????