S'pore PM first in Bandung

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday afternoon became the first head of state to arrive in Bandung, West Java, ahead of Sunday's golden jubilee of the 1955 Bandung Conference.

Loong arrived from Jakarta in a Fokker-50 jet. Most of the other leaders will arrive early Sunday morning by special Garuda Airways chartered flights.

The Singapore premier is staying at the Preanger Hotel, less than a kilometer from the Merdeka Building, the venue of the commemoration. No special engagements were planned for him despite his early arrival. "He will have an early night," one official remarked.--JP