Revision in American dictionary needed

Revision in American dictionary needed

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih has called on The
American Heritage College Dictionary to revise its entry for
Indonesia in time for the next edition.

Singgih told a parliamentary hearing yesterday that the
information given by the dictionary, published by the Houghton
Mifflin Company of the United States, is incorrect.

The dictionary, under the Indonesia entry, says that Indonesia
proclaimed its independence on Dec. 27, 1949, instead of Aug. 17
1945.

"We have asked the Ministry of Education and Culture to right
the wrong information by asking the publisher to make the
correction in their coming edition," Singgih said.

The government banned the distribution of the dictionary last
December after discovering the mistakes and asked the
distributor, PT Etno Mitra Pustaka, to withdraw the book from
circulation.

The distributor had earlier told the office of the Attorney
General that 15 out of the 52 books it distributed had been
withdrawn, while the remaining 37 had been sold.

According to Singgih, the American publisher had informed PT
Etno Mitra Pustaka that the definition and information on
Indonesia in the dictionary was obtained from a Dutch source.

In a letter to PT Etno Mistra Pustaka, the publisher asked for
better and more detailed information about Indonesia in order to
make the correction in its coming edition. (03)