Good writers are hard to find: Publisher

JAKARTA (JP): A local publisher is attributing the continued use of outdated books to the scarcity of good textbook writers.

"We have too few people who like to read, and even fewer who can write," said Wahyudi Ruwiyanto, the director of the 78-year- old state-owned Balai Pustaka publishing agency.

"We are always head hunting for the best writers," he said during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) yesterday.

He told members of the Commission IX overseeing education and culture that the majority of text books in use today desperately need to be updated.

"It would be a pity if the young generation, for instance, could not absorb the knowledge of (prominent physics) professor Achmad Baiquni," Wahyudi said.

Balai Pustaka is regarded as historically important for its publishing of literary classics and for its role in popularizing the emerging Indonesian language in the early 1930s.

However, an inefficient management has made it increasingly dependent on the publishing of textbooks from the Ministry of Education and Culture, which is its lifeline.

Wahyudi also complained that several private publishers often "peek into Balai Pustaka books," and then publish summaries which are sold directly to schools.

"Our children then become content to learn the fast way, without really understanding," Wahyudi said.

The former head of the National Book Agency, Taya Paembonan, also wrote last year that most textbooks published by private companies were not fit for print.

"The Directorate General of Elementary and Secondary Schooling (found) that less than 60 percent of all books published by private-owned publishers are fit for (learning purposes)," Paembonan wrote in his book, which was distributed during yesterday's hearing.

In "The Current National Book Problem and Future Challenges" (Perbukuan Nasional Kini dan Tantangannya pada Masa Mendatang) he reports that a 1991 survey found many textbooks were only copies or an "assemblage" of books commissioned by the Ministry.

Wahyudi acknowledged that Balai Pustaka needs to improve its management and employ more creative talents to enable it to compete with private-owned publishers which, he said, "are active in grabbing market potential."

Balai Pustaka published 35.5 million copies in the last 1994- 1995 fiscal year. (anr)