Sukarno's books left to decay

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: The personal library of founding president Sukarno is in danger of being lost after being left without proper care for a long time.

There are 285 books in Sukarno's house here, all without covers.

"We do not allow visitors to touch the books because it will only worsen the damage," Darwis Andrian, a guard at the house, said on Friday.

Head of Bengkulu's provincial library Syapun Thoha said he had requested the National Library in Jakarta for special storage for the precious literature, but had received no response.

Thoha said some of the books were tattered and others almost unreadable.

According to him, many people visited the house because of the collection. Therefore the local administration should preserve those historical items. - Antara