Wardiman opens huge book fair

Wardiman opens huge book fair

JAKARTA (JP): The International Book Fair 1996, which brings
together 93 publishers from Indonesia and abroad, was officially
opened by Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro
yesterday.

Taking place at the Senayan Sport's complex, the 16th book
fair, which will last until Sunday, features a wide variety of
books for children, youths and adults.

Foreign participants at the book fair includes Brunei,
England, France, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and
Vietnam.

The event, which is expected to attract 10,000 visitors every
day, will also feature seminars.

In his speech, Wardiman expressed concern over the lack of
interest in reading among Indonesians.

"We can't say that we're proud of our book industry," Wardiman
said. "A characteristic of an advanced society is they love
reading, but here...the condition saddens me," he said.

He pointed out that the country's book production is very low.
"The number of books published here are not comparable to the
country's population," Wardiman said.

In 1995, only 5,000 book titles were published, he said.

Neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand, produce a lot more books than Indonesia, he said.
Moreover, advanced countries, such as Britain, Japan and Korea,
produce about 40,000 titles every year, he said.

According to the 1994 official data, 87 percent of Indonesians
above 10 years of age, or 130 million people, are literate. "It
means that 130 million people need books. But, despite their good
income, they still don't buy books," Wardiman said.

People's buying power has not improved their interest in
books, he said.

"Instead, people love buying music cassettes," he said.

In 1995, about 95 million cassettes were sold, each costing
between Rp 6,500 (US$2.70) and Rp 12,000. During the same period,
only 30,000 copies of books were sold, Wardiman said.

He urged the Indonesian Publishers Association to help improve
people's reading interest instead of continuously demanding lower
taxes on books. (ste)