Top govt officials ignore Book Day

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