Thursday September 14, 2006
Help lower book prices, Government urged
By BEH YUEN HUI
NEGRI Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has called on the Government to help bring down the cost of books in order to promote the reading habit.
He said one effective way was to reduce the price of printing paper, which was expensive in the country.
“Books are expensive because of the paper, and there is nothing much we can do,” he said, adding that lowering the paper price could eventually result in cheaper books.
Mohamad proposed that Approved Permits (APs) be issued to those importing paper for the printing of books and other related materials.
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Mohamad (third from left) sharing a reading moment with Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak students (from left) Syahiran Bahador, Muhammad Shafiq Shamsudin, Khairul Anwar and Helmy Fitreey Halim, while state exco member Datuk Ismail Lassim (left) looks on. |
He also suggested that tax rebates be given to publishers to reduce the price of books.
“It is very important to encourage the reading habit, especially among the young generation, in order to cultivate a knowledgeable community in the future,” he told reporters after launching the state-level Reading Campaign at Seremban Plaza in Seremban on Monday.
He said the state government was planning to build a public library at a strategic location in Paroi.
“We have conducted studies and found the place to be the most suitable for the construction of a library because there are more than 10 schools within the area.
“The students can go to the library to read or study whenever they have free time,’’ he said.
Mohamad said an electronic library would also be set up at the Umno building in Seremban, following a RM50,000 contribution from ExxonMobil.
He said 43 town libraries would also be built, making a total of 81 libraries in the state.
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