Reform openness brings blessing to book publishers

Reform openness brings blessing to book publishers

By A. Ariobimo Nusantara

JAKARTA (JP): With the end of the New Order and the advent of
the Reform Order, most bookshops in Indonesia have been flooded
with reform-themed books and works exploring the dark side of the
Soeharto's regime.

The book business has found the right marketing ploy when the
pinch of the ongoing economic crisis is being acutely felt. As
books under the reform theme sell easily, book publishers,
usually on the point of bankruptcy, seem to have a new lease of
life. The book business was dying fast as the price of paper
soared because of the weakened value of the rupiah against the
U.S. dollar. Consumer purchasing power has also been much
reduced.

Luckily, the dawn of the era of reform has made names like
opposition figure Amien Rais, leader of the Muhammadiyah Moslem
organization, and Abdurachman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, who
leads Nahdlatul Ulama, a prospective gold mine to book
publishers.

Mizan Publisher, for example, has published Ada Udang di Balik
Busang (An Ulterior Motive Behind Busang), a collection of Amien
Rais' articles on the deficiencies of the New Order in the Busang
case. Within two weeks, the first printing was sold out. In June,
Mizan launched five books under the reform theme, including
Tauhid Social Amien Rais (Amien Rais' Social Faith), Soeharto
Menjaring Matahari (Soeharto Netting the Sun) and Bila ABRI
Menghendaki (If the Armed Forces So Wishes).

Other titles have also quickly found their way to book
enthusiasts. Indonesia di Simpang Jalan (Indonesia at the
Crossroads) has reportedly been reprinted within a month of its
debut, with each print run numbering no fewer than 7,500 copies.
Kapan Badai Berlalu (When the Storm Passes), a collection of the
opinions of Gus Dur, Amien Rais, Adi Sasono and several other
figures, has had four reprints and exceeded 8,000 copies.

Putut Widjanarko, general manager of Mizan, told Gatra
newsweekly that Mizan was serious in launching the books. As the
reform drive is in full swing, he said there was an increasing
demand for books about Amien Rais. Mizan, which is known as a
publisher of books on Islam, continues to expand its other
product lines.

How can Mizan quickly get hold of a manuscript? It is not a
problem at all. As it usually sponsors seminars, Mizan can easily
collect papers related to the reform drive. These collections of
paper then take the book form. Besides, the publisher also eyes
newspaper articles for later collection in a book. Suara-Suara
Perih Masyarakat Indonesia, for example, is a collection of
letters sent to the editors of various mass media.

Another publisher which has also benefited from the reform
drive is Gema Insani Press (GIP). Reformasi Politik Suatu
Keharusan (Political Reform -- a Must), by H. Hartono Mardjono
and with a foreword by Adi Sasono, is one of the "first
generation of books" on the reform drive. Within a month, the
book, launched late May, was printed in 16,000 copies.

GIP wishes to have a repeat of this success when it launched
Amien Rais Sang Demokrat (Amien Rais the Democrat) and Solusi
Islam atas Problema Ummat (Islamic Solution to the Problems of
Moslems), each being printed in 15,000 copies.

As for the optimism held by GIP, Abdullah Fanani, head of the
company's promotion and exhibition division, said that usually
GIP printed one title in 5,000 copies at first. Now that the
company has shifted its publishing policy toward books on the
reform drive, the target to publish six titles in a month may be
reached, he said.

The same method is also employed by Yogyakarta-based Pustaka
Pelajar. It relies on the reputation of Arbi Sanit, lecturer of
the School of Social and Political Sciences of the University of
Indonesia, when launching Reformasi Politik (Political Reform).
It has also published Amien Rais' Mengatasi Krisis dari Serambi
Masjid (Overcoming Crisis from the Porch of a Mosque) by Amien
Rais and Catatan atas Gagalnya Politik Orde Baru (Notes on the
Failure of the New Order Politics) by Eep Saefulloh Fatah.
However, unlike GIP or Mizan, Pustaka Pelajar sets its print run
at only 2,000 copies for each printing.

One of the country's established publishers, Sinar Harapan,
has also launched its Menggugah Etika Bisnis Order Baru
(Questioning the Business Ethics of the New Order) by Rosita
Noer.

Grasindo has launched Aksi Mahasiswa Menuju Gerbang Reformasi
(Students' Action Towards the Gate of Reform), a collection of
facts compiled by its team of editors about students' action that
finally forced Soeharto to step down as Indonesia's second
president.

At this juncture, it is also worth mentioning that even an
unknown publisher like Pustaka Demokrasi has also joined the
euphoria in publishing books. This publisher has put out Harta
Jarahan Harto (The Assets Looted by [Soe]Harto), by George Junus
Aditjondro, a former lecturer at Satya Wacana Christian
University in Salatiga, Central Java, now in self-exile in
Australia following an accusation he defamed Soeharto. As the
title suggests, the book lists 105 foundations owned by the
Soeharto family and their cronies. In this work, Aditjondro puts
Soeharto's assets at some US$16 billion.

One may well ask what has given rise to this euphoria of
publishing books? The answer is that this must be the
manifestation that the shadow of fear, closely following
virtually everybody during the New Order regime, has now gone.

During the New Order era, it was a given that the books on the
reform drive now on display in bookshops would not see the light
of day. The government would surely ban books of this kind.

In the past three years, during the New Order regime, the
Attorney General banned 21 books.

Earlier this month, however, the Attorney General lifted the
ban on seven books. The others are still being considered.

The writer is an editor at a publishing house.