Govt may tap on President's 'significant' powers amid downturn THE President has significant powers in areas such as managing reserves which the government may want to tap on should there be a downturn, said Law Minister K. Shanmugam on Sunday. Mr Shanmugam, who attended a community event, also spoke about the gloomy global economic situation. He added that after the recent Institute of iPolicy Studies seminar where he spoke about the role of the President, the presidential hopefuls seemed to have a better understanding of the issue, and he has detected 'a significant shift in the way they are positioning themselves'.