Riau's small Malay book gallery aims big

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

Although Pekanbaru boasts many bookshops, in one corner of this city of some 750,000 people there is a unique one. The Ibrahim Sattah Book Gallery specializes in books on Malay literature, culture and history.

The gallery, named after a Riau-born, leading national poet, was set up three years ago in a compound formerly used for the national Koran reciting contest on Jl. Sudirman, Pekanbaru.

Ibrahim Sattah (1945-1988) devoted the last 10 years of his life to poetry writing and the publication of books. It was Riau Arts Council that named the gallery after him. It is the intention of the council to make this gallery a book center.

Some 80 percent of the books that the gallery sells dwell on Malay literature and culture. The remaining 20 percent are those on political and religious subjects.

"We mean to introduce books on Malay literature and socio- cultural subjects. Providing quality books at affordable prices is our commitment and making money is not our chief objective. We are trying to make Riau the future center of Malay culture in South-East Asia," Taufik Ikram Jamil, chairman of Riau Arts Council, told The Jakarta Post.

After three years in operation, the gallery is struggling to survive, finding it rather difficult to sell specialized books. Sales are very small.

The problem led the Art Council to establish cooperation with the Jakarta-based Adikarya Foundation, an organization under the Indonesian Association of Book Publishers (IKAPI) to lend more enthusiasm to the gallery. Last year, they established the Consortium for Riau Libraries, which now manages the gallery.

The gallery has 402 titles on offer from 55 publishers from Riau and other regions.

The strategic significance of this gallery is obviously closely linked with the 2002 Vision of the Riau provincial administration, which strives to make Riau the center of Malay culture in South-East Asia. One step towards the realization of this vision is the introduction of books on Malay literature.

"We have responded to this vision very early on. It seems strange to see a future center of Malay culture without a good supply of books on this theme. That's why we have enthusiastically set up this Ibrahim Sattah gallery," said Jamil, formerly a reporter with the Jakarta-based Kompas daily newspaper and a good hand at writing about Riau Malay culture.

"We realize that this book gallery is no ordinary bookshop. We concentrate on cultural matters," he said.

The Arts Council has forged cooperation with a number of universities and schools in Riau, Malaysia and Singapore.

Malaysian and Singaporean students visiting the gallery are generally interested in finding out how the Malay culture fares in Indonesia and how this compares with their own culture. Besides, they also want to buy books on the culture of the people in Riau, for example books about the Sakai and Talang Mamak traditional people living in Riau's jungles.

"Malaysian and Singaporean students are very interested in books about the lives of these isolated tribes. They are also enthusiastic to find out the root of Malay culture. Malaysia and Singapore nevertheless form part of the Malay community and are inseparable from Riau," Jamil said.

Also popular among these Malaysian and Singaporean students are historical books on the power of Malay kings on the Malay Peninsula. This topic is also of great interest to Thai and Filipino students visiting the gallery.

In the past Riau and the Malay Peninsula were closely related. Some of the Malay kings in Riau came from Johor, Malaysia. The kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura and the kingdom of Indragiri Hulu, for example, has their origins on the Malay Peninsula. Hence the strong bond between Riau Malay and Malaysia remains.

Singapore also used to have a close link with Riau. The History of Siak, a book describing the history of the Siak sultanate, reportedly Indonesia's richest kingdom, and published by the Riau provincial administration, says that a descendant of the Siak sultanate moved to Singapore and became a citizen there.

Not all the books that are offered in this book gallery are new. Ainuddin, one of the gallery attendants, said visitors preferred books about the culture of Riau's isolated tribes. He added that the gallery could not meet the demand for these books.

"When the original copy has been sold out, Xerox copies of the books will do," said Ainuddin, who is also a student at Riau Malay Art College.

The book gallery is usually visited by about 10 visitors a day. At the weekends, there are about 25 visitors. Clearly, if the gallery depends on its sales earnings, it will soon have to close down.

Realizing this danger, the Arts Council cooperates with a number of universities and carry out many book-related activities. To commemorate Pekanbaru's anniversary in 2002, for example, the gallery held a book expo and made Rp 10 million (about US$1,220) gross.

"But such an event is rare," said Berty, a staff member with the gallery's management. "The earnings from book sales amount to only Rp 250,000 a month," Berty said.

The building the gallery is now housed in, measuring 24 meters by 12 meters, used to be a restaurant and a Muslim prayer house when the compound was used for a national Koran reciting contest (MTQ). Called Bandar Serai, the place is still better known as an "MTQ compound".

The interior decoration of the gallery is dominated by tree bark with strong local ethnic nuances.

Small-sized beams are arranged to form bookshelves from which visitors are free to choose their books. You can read the books in the gallery only.

The prices? They are lower than those offered in regular bookshops. Generally the books are sold at their cost price. The gallery enjoys a discount from the publishers, which team up with the Arts Council.