MPR Deputy Speaker Says National Literacy Improvement Must Not Stop
Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Lestari Moerdijat is pushing for a collective solution to address the impact of the National Library of Indonesia’s (Perpusnas) budget constraints. According to her, this must receive serious attention as part of efforts to improve national literacy.
“A number of concrete steps must be taken immediately so that the national literacy movement does not come to a halt. Reviving mutual cooperation and creativity at all levels could be a solution for the sustainability of the literacy movement,” said Lestari Moerdijat on Monday (20 July 2026).
During a hearing with Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday (16 July), Head of Perpusnas E. Aminudin Aziz said that with the 2026 budget ceiling of Rp 377.9 billion, the free book distribution programme for villages and reading gardens, which had been running successfully, had to be stopped entirely. Previously, in 2025, Perpusnas received a budget allocation of Rp 721.6 billion.
According to Lestari, community literacy improvement programmes must be carried out consistently and must not operate in silos.
“Synergy between central government, regional governments and communities must be strengthened with concrete action,” she explained.
Moreover, she explained that the latest data from Perpusnas shows that the national Community Literacy Development Index (IPLM) as of March 2026 remains at 40.6, which falls into the low category.
A number of concrete steps must be taken immediately, including strengthening the role of regional governments in promoting reading culture and literacy, as well as reinforcing multi-stakeholder collaboration involving the business world, literacy activists and communities.
“One of the main problems of literacy is not merely the absence of reading interest, but the still limited access to quality reading materials. Joint creativity is needed to reach even the remotest corners, for instance by maximising the role of Community Reading Gardens (TBM) scattered across the regions,” she explained.
In addition, book-friendly fiscal policies must be promoted, including abolishing Value Added Tax (VAT) on books and the tax on paper as a raw material for books.
“Literacy is the foundation of the nation’s sovereignty. If future generations are unable to properly analyse information due to low literacy skills, this has the potential to erode the nation’s sovereignty in the future,” she concluded.