Riau's small Malay book gallery aims big<\/p>\n
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau<\/p>\n
Although Pekanbaru boasts many bookshops, in one corner of this
\ncity of some 750,000 people there is a unique one. The Ibrahim
\nSattah Book Gallery specializes in books on Malay literature,
\nculture and history.<\/p>\n
The gallery, named after a Riau-born, leading national poet,
\nwas set up three years ago in a compound formerly used for the
\nnational Koran reciting contest on Jl. Sudirman, Pekanbaru.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim Sattah (1945-1988) devoted the last 10 years of his
\nlife to poetry writing and the publication of books. It was Riau
\nArts Council that named the gallery after him. It is the
\nintention of the council to make this gallery a book center.<\/p>\n
Some 80 percent of the books that the gallery sells dwell on
\nMalay literature and culture. The remaining 20 percent are those
\non political and religious subjects.<\/p>\n
\"We mean to introduce books on Malay literature and socio-
\ncultural subjects. Providing quality books at affordable prices
\nis our commitment and making money is not our chief objective. We
\nare trying to make Riau the future center of Malay culture in
\nSouth-East Asia,\" Taufik Ikram Jamil, chairman of Riau Arts
\nCouncil, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
After three years in operation, the gallery is struggling to
\nsurvive, finding it rather difficult to sell specialized books.
\nSales are very small.<\/p>\n
The problem led the Art Council to establish cooperation with
\nthe Jakarta-based Adikarya Foundation, an organization under the
\nIndonesian Association of Book Publishers (IKAPI) to lend more
\nenthusiasm to the gallery. Last year, they established the
\nConsortium for Riau Libraries, which now manages the gallery.<\/p>\n
The gallery has 402 titles on offer from 55 publishers from
\nRiau and other regions.<\/p>\n
The strategic significance of this gallery is obviously
\nclosely linked with the 2002 Vision of the Riau provincial
\nadministration, which strives to make Riau the center of Malay
\nculture in South-East Asia. One step towards the realization of
\nthis vision is the introduction of books on Malay literature.<\/p>\n
\"We have responded to this vision very early on. It seems
\nstrange to see a future center of Malay culture without a good
\nsupply of books on this theme. That's why we have
\nenthusiastically set up this Ibrahim Sattah gallery,\" said Jamil,
\nformerly a reporter with the Jakarta-based Kompas daily newspaper
\nand a good hand at writing about Riau Malay culture.<\/p>\n
\"We realize that this book gallery is no ordinary bookshop. We
\nconcentrate on cultural matters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Arts Council has forged cooperation with a number of
\nuniversities and schools in Riau, Malaysia and Singapore.<\/p>\n
Malaysian and Singaporean students visiting the gallery are
\ngenerally interested in finding out how the Malay culture fares
\nin Indonesia and how this compares with their own culture.
\nBesides, they also want to buy books on the culture of the people
\nin Riau, for example books about the Sakai and Talang Mamak
\ntraditional people living in Riau's jungles.<\/p>\n
\"Malaysian and Singaporean students are very interested in
\nbooks about the lives of these isolated tribes. They are also
\nenthusiastic to find out the root of Malay culture. Malaysia and
\nSingapore nevertheless form part of the Malay community and are
\ninseparable from Riau,\" Jamil said.<\/p>\n
Also popular among these Malaysian and Singaporean students
\nare historical books on the power of Malay kings on the Malay
\nPeninsula. This topic is also of great interest to Thai and
\nFilipino students visiting the gallery.<\/p>\n
In the past Riau and the Malay Peninsula were closely related.
\nSome of the Malay kings in Riau came from Johor, Malaysia. The
\nkingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura and the kingdom of Indragiri Hulu,
\nfor example, has their origins on the Malay Peninsula. Hence the
\nstrong bond between Riau Malay and Malaysia remains.<\/p>\n
Singapore also used to have a close link with Riau. The
\nHistory of Siak, a book describing the history of the Siak
\nsultanate, reportedly Indonesia's richest kingdom, and published
\nby the Riau provincial administration, says that a descendant of
\nthe Siak sultanate moved to Singapore and became a citizen there.<\/p>\n
Not all the books that are offered in this book gallery are
\nnew. Ainuddin, one of the gallery attendants, said visitors
\npreferred books about the culture of Riau's isolated tribes. He
\nadded that the gallery could not meet the demand for these books.<\/p>\n
\"When the original copy has been sold out, Xerox copies of the
\nbooks will do,\" said Ainuddin, who is also a student at Riau
\nMalay Art College.<\/p>\n
The book gallery is usually visited by about 10 visitors a
\nday. At the weekends, there are about 25 visitors. Clearly, if
\nthe gallery depends on its sales earnings, it will soon have to
\nclose down.<\/p>\n
Realizing this danger, the Arts Council cooperates with a
\nnumber of universities and carry out many book-related
\nactivities. To commemorate Pekanbaru's anniversary in 2002, for
\nexample, the gallery held a book expo and made Rp 10 million
\n(about US$1,220) gross.<\/p>\n
\"But such an event is rare,\" said Berty, a staff member with
\nthe gallery's management. \"The earnings from book sales amount to
\nonly Rp 250,000 a month,\" Berty said.<\/p>\n
The building the gallery is now housed in, measuring 24 meters
\nby 12 meters, used to be a restaurant and a Muslim prayer house
\nwhen the compound was used for a national Koran reciting contest
\n(MTQ). Called Bandar Serai, the place is still better known as an
\n\"MTQ compound\".<\/p>\n
The interior decoration of the gallery is dominated by tree
\nbark with strong local ethnic nuances.<\/p>\n
Small-sized beams are arranged to form bookshelves from which
\nvisitors are free to choose their books. You can read the books
\nin the gallery only.<\/p>\n
The prices? They are lower than those offered in regular
\nbookshops. Generally the books are sold at their cost price. The
\ngallery enjoys a discount from the publishers, which team up with
\nthe Arts Council.<\/p>",
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