Top govt officials ignore Book Day

BANDUNG: Even while the country struggles to improve education, the nation's top officials apparently decided it was unnecessary to attend the 2004 National Book Day celebrations held on Monday in Bandung.

The organizing committee had issued special invitations to President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz, but they failed to attend. The Minister of Education Abdul Malik Fajar, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan and his deputy Nu'man Abdul Hakim also skipped the event after being invited.

The committee said the absence of those influential officials showed their lack of concern about improving education and encouraging people to read. --JP