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.