SINGAPORE is a precious jewel and should be treasured, protected and improved, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday, calling it a "shared asset".
That is the message Mr Lee wants to tell the electorate after nine days of "intense" campaigning.
Touted as a watershed election, the incumbent ruling party, the People's Action Party (PAP), faces an unprecedented challenge from the opposition parties, with 82 out of 87 seats contested.
Speaking to reporters after a walkabout at food centres and markets in Ang Mo Kio, Mr Lee said he hopes that voters will take the time to deliberate on their choice on Cooling-off Day today.
He said: "I hope they can sit back...and think over their choice for tomorrow."
Though he understands that voters are concerned with pressing issues such as housing and the cost of living, he urged them to also consider the Government's long-term plans, such as leadership renewal.
"The issue of leadership renewal is rarely discussed because people feel it is not something that affects them today. But if we do not consider it now, we will have a problem 10 years later," he said in Mandarin.
With "a certain rise in the temperature" islandwide, he added: "People know that this is no ordinary time, it's an election and people are canvassing for support, for votes.
"So many things...which people have been thinking about, perhaps it crystallises a little bit more during this period."
One topic on the minds of Singaporeans is the possible rise in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) after the polls. Stickers have been spotted on notice boards in some parts of Singapore, telling voters to "Say No to 10% GST".
To ease voters' doubts, Mr Lee and his Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team took the time to hand residents pamphlets with a message quashing rumours of such a hike. His wife, Ms Ho Ching, was also present, greeting and distributing materials to residents.
Mr Lee said: "We're just putting it there...to prevent anybody from getting confused.
"As the election goes, people are interested in what the leaders are saying, what the arguments are about. So we decided to prepare some fresh materials." Though Mr Lee was confident about how the PAP will fare at the polls, he said: "We are not taking anybody's vote for granted. We are fighting for every vote."
On the fiercely contested Aljunied GRC where the PAP is up against the Workers' Party's (WP) "A" Team, Mr Lee said: "(The PAP) is fighting hard. Our people are in good spirits."
The WP line-up in Aljunied comprises party chief Low Thia Khiang, party chairman Sylvia Lim, corporate lawyer Chen Show Mao, counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and postgraduate law student Pritam Singh.
On the competition in Aljunied, Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew had said earlier that voters there would have "five years to live and repent" should the opposition be elected.
During his Tuesday lunch-time rally speech, the younger Mr Lee stated his stand - that the Government works differently from that of MM's generation.
When asked for MM's reactions to what he had said, Mr Lee said: "I think he understands. He doesn't disagree with what I say. He knows our position and we know his position."
In the same rally speech, Mr Lee had also apologised to Singaporeans for "mistakes" such as the escape of detained terrorist Mas Selamat in 2008 and floods in Orchard Road last year.
He said: "I'm very grateful for the response to my speech, I'm very moved and touched. I think it has resonated with people."
However, the opposition expressed sceptisim about Mr Lee's apology, calling it a move to win sympathy votes.
When my paper asked the Prime Minister for his views, he said: "The opposition will say that. I have already said what I have to say; I think Singaporeans know that when I say something, I mean what I say."