'Smart Library' is former-minister's long-held dream

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Malang, East Java

After retiring as a state official, Malik Fadjar, former religious affairs minister during President BJ Habibie's administration and former education minister during the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, is realizing his long-cherished dream of owning a good library.

On Oct.22, his dream came true with the opening of his library, called Rumah Buku Cerdas (Smart Library or RBC). You can find in this library Malik Fadjar's own collection and books donated by a number of parties.

Designed as a one-stop library, RBC has a collection of some 500 titles as well as a number of journals and several bundles of magazines like Tempo, Panji Masyarakat and Horison. The library is also provided with a Wi-Fi Internet hotspot facility.

"Anybody wishing to read the books in this library can also go browsing on the Internet here," said Nazaruddin Malik Fadjar, the son of Malik Fadjar given responsibility for technical matters at the RBC.

To make a visitor feel at home in this library, the entrance is free and a coffee shop is provided in one corner. The building is located in a two-story house in Permata Jingga Estate, Jl. Puncak Borobudur, Kav. 12 to 13, Malang.

"I have just been told by our friends from Mizan publisher that they will donate books and they also plan to open their own counter in RBC," said Malik Fadjar when interviewed after inaugurating his library.

On the first floor of the library are held bundles of magazines and journals on political, cultural, social and religious affairs. Apart from its interior decoration, which gives visitors a feeling of relaxation, the library also has its own coffee shop and bakery.

Meanwhile, the second floor is designed in a more serious manner as it keeps neatly arranged collections of rare books, such as the address that president Sukarno made in 1954 on the nation and the Islamic state.

Most of the books kept in this air-conditioned library come from Malik Fadjar's private collection, which dates from the 1950s.

"I have obtained most of the books from book hunting in various cities and at Pasar Senen, Jakarta. I hope the library will open up new avenues for readers in addition to those that already exist in the community," he said.

Malik denied the allegation that the library was aimed at providing references for those in search of materials or data for studying particular disciplines. In fact, he noted, RBC had been set up so that it can establish a synergy with other libraries.

"Today, there are a lot of places for such references. This library has been set up so that it can establish a synergy with other libraries," he stressed.

The opening of the library was held jointly with a breaking -of-the-fast dinner, followed later by a joint Ramadhan evening prayer and a Nuzulul Qur'an dialog.

Present at the ceremony marking the inauguration of RBC were rector of Muhammadiyah University in Malang Drs Muhadjir Effendi, director general of tertiary education Soemantri Brodjonegoro and rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta Azyumardi Azra.