Balai Pustaka ridden with Rp 6b in debts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Balai Pustaka, the nation's leading
\npublishing house in the 1950s and 1960s, is now Rp 6 billion
\n($2.75 million) in debt with millions of unsold books.<\/p>\n
Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro
\nyesterday confirmed that the 77-year old publishing agency has
\nbeen in deep financial trouble for some time and badly needs
\nrestructuring.<\/p>\n
\"The debts are a result of the company's inefficient
\nmanagement,\" Wardiman said, adding that the publisher's revenues
\nwere unable to cover its operational costs.<\/p>\n
He was responding to a report in the Neraca daily newspaper
\nwhich, quoting sources at the Supreme Audit Agency, made
\nsuggestions of huge leaks in Balai Pustaka's finances.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka, the only state enterprise overseen by the
\nministry of education and culture, saw its hey day in the 1950s
\nand 1960s. The onslaught of private publishing houses since the
\n1970s, however, have taken the edge off of its role, now down to
\nlargely providing school textbooks, with government protection.<\/p>\n
Wardiman earlier this year revamped the management of Balai
\nPustaka to turn the money losing agency into a money spinner.<\/p>\n
Balai Pustaka President Wahyudi Ruwiyanto recently said he was
\nplanning a major facelift to the company's management some time
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
According to the ministry's inspector general Zaki Machmud as
\nreported by Neraca, Balai Pustaka's debts included tax arrears
\nand other obligations reaching a total of Rp 6 billion.<\/p>\n
He said in fact the company did not lack assets because it
\nowned almost a whole storage room full of unsold books, valued at
\nbillions of rupiah.<\/p>\n
Zaki said there were no indications of corruption within the
\ncompany and emphasized that management inefficiency was the main
\ncause of the problem.<\/p>\n
The company, he said, had been publishing books that were not
\npopular with the public. It also lacked a sound distribution and
\nmarketing strategy, he added.<\/p>\n
Wardiman pointed out that the only way to solve the company's
\nproblems was to increase its professionalism, but he refused to
\nsee privatization as a solution. \"They only have to be as
\nprofessional as private publishers,\" he said. (pwn)<\/p>",
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