Spanish award for Kendari JAKARTA (JP): A floating restaurant in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, called Bright Gold restaurant, will get the Spanish International Award for the Hotel and Catering Industry. The restaurant's owner, Erny Soegito, said the award would be presented in Madrid next month. She told Antara she did not know her five-year-old restaurant which has 20 staff was a candidate for the award.

Flood inundate thousands of houses SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: Several days of heavy rains have caused Mahakam River to overflow, inundating thousands of houses, Antara reported yesterday. No casualties have been reported but the estimated loss incurred, along with the damage in roads and crops, has reached hundreds of million of rupiah. Most of the affected houses are located on Jl. Pemuda and Jl. Remaja, where water levels reached a meter high, halting traffic in the area completely.

Thai premier, FM to visit ASEAN BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand's new premier and foreign minister will begin a series of visits to neighboring ASEAN countries in early January, a foreign ministry spokesman confirmed yesterday. Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will make trips to Indonesia on Jan. 2-3 and Vietnam in early February, while Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasarn will visit Malaysia on Jan. 6-7, the spokesman said.

1997 not good for bank expansion By Laksamana Sukardi JAKARTA (JP): To reach sustainable and prudent growth, Indonesian banking should be able to cope with pressures and consolidate its structure in the coming years. Is it capable of consolidating in a well-oriented and effective way? The process will apparently take a long time. Acceleration in banking consolidation is strongly required to face a number of serious threats which impede sustainable and prudent growth of national banking.

'Bill doesn't reflect workers' interests' JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation has blasted the government for its manpower bill which it said would subject workers to even worse conditions. Teten Masduki, the foundation's workers' division director, told The Jakarta Post Tuesday that the government-sponsored bill would "legalize" unfair labor practices, lessen workers' room to fight for their welfare, and might even help set Indonesia's image as a site for cheap-labor.

Election institute faces lawsuit over dropped candidates JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) is planning to sue the General Election Institute for rejecting its legislature candidates "without clear grounds". Secretary-General Tosari Wijaya said Tuesday that because of suspicion of foul play, the party executives were currently gathering information on how the institute screened its candidates.

'Food supply will remain at safe level' JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's food supply will remain at a safe level next year as prices of most staples on the world market are likely to drop, a National Logistics Agency (Bulog) official said yesterday. Chrisman Silitonga, an expert at Bulog, said world production was overflowing resulting in low prices and guaranteeing Indonesia sound food supply. He said Bulog already had enough rice for next year.

Fashion franchises prey on Indonesian elite By Dini S. Djalal JAKARTA (JP): It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, Charles Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens could have been referring to Indonesia's fashion industry. With countless boutique openings and fashion shows, it has been an eventful year for style hounds, although it remains unknown whether the surface glamour is bringing in the bucks for retailers.

KL politician freed on bailed KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A senior Malaysian politician's purported possession in Australia of close to US$ 1 million in undeclared currency grabbed the front pages of all local newspapers yesterday. The local media was trying to reach Muhammad bin Muhammad Taib, chief minister of central Selangor state and a senior official of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling party -- who is believed to have returned to Malaysia -- for his comments.