Indonesians' interest in reading high

JAKARTA (JP): Observers disagreed on Wednesday with claims that Indonesians had poor reading habits which contributed to the poor sales of books and other printed publications.

A researcher from Yogyakarta-based Gajah Mada University's School of Psychology, Primanto Nugroho, said Indonesians' interest in reading was not low at all.

"Look at Pos Kota and Rakyat Merdeka newspapers, which have a lot of readers, or traditional fiction stories like Wiro Sableng which sells like hotcakes. 'How to' books have also become best sellers," he said in a discussion here on Wednesday.

He said that it was also wrong to say that quality books did not sell well here.

"Books written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer are best sellers here," he said.

Primanto was commenting on a report by the Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi) that Indonesian publishers were only able to publish 1,500 new titles a year, compared to Singapore's 50,000.

The association also revealed that publishers could only sell 14 million to 15 million copies of books a year, while publishers in the United States could sell up to 400 million copies annually.

Primanto said the poor sales of books in Indonesia was a complex matter.

He cited a recent joint research by research institution Etnoreflika, the Obor Foundation, IKAPI and the Ford Foundation in three cities -- Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Magelang in Central Java.

Although focusing on the qualitative aspects rather than the quantitative ones, the research, which was based on interviews with people from different walks of life and age groups, showed that Indonesians' interest in reading was high.

"But the problem rests on the market's failure to provide the books, despite people having an interest in books and the financial ability to procure them," he said.

In Yogyakarta and Jakarta, people do not have time to read, despite having the interest and the capability to obtain books, which are abundant, he said.

"Another problem is that Indonesian people have never been given the opportunity to get books with themes and content which they really want to read. Let them now decide," Primanto said.

Noted writer Arswendo Atmowiloto said the main problem of book sales lay in their supply, price and content.

"Books are part of an industry. The cheaper they are, the more books sold," he said, while addressing the same discussion.

Hilmar Farid, a lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute, said poor sales were caused by publishers' poor business judgment.

"Publishers only focus on selling books and printed publications in Java, while in West Kalimantan, as an example, there is a local magazine with a circulation of 10,000 copies.

"The magazine reaches the people of the Dayak tribe. It means that the magazine has succeeded in fulfilling local need," he said.

He cited that 85 percent of the country's printed publications was distributed in Java. (09)