Reading interest

Reading interest

From Kompas

When the President observed National Reading Day in Bogor, West Java sometime ago, he made it known that interest in reading among the Indonesian public is still very low. Maybe this is because of a lackadaisical attitude toward reading.

I think the public's lack of interest toward reading is caused by other factors besides mere laziness. For instance, the average person cannot afford to buy costly books, because of a low income.

That is the real reason why the public does not show an interest in reading, while libraries only have a limited number of books available. If book prices were much lower than they are and books were widely available to the public, bookshops would be beleaguered by buyers.

People with a lower level of education especially should increase their interest in reading to obtain more general knowledge.

I hope the matter will draw the attention of all parties, so Indonesians will become a knowledgeable people with greater reading habits.

AGAM K. ZEBUA

Medan, North Sumatra