Publishers Are Not Happy with Cheap-Book Program
Monday, 21 April, 2008 | 17:15 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi) has said it considers the cheap-book program policy of Education Minister, Bambang Sudibyo, will create losses for publishers.

Through this policy, the government will purchase the copyright rights of school books for between Rp100 million and Rp175 million per book.

The copyright contract will last for 15 years throughout Indonesia.

During this period, the Education Department can distribute books in various different forms such as print, photocopy, electronic, and optical versions.

“This will certainly create losses for us, even though we have not calculated the amount,” Ikapi head Setia Dharma Madjid told Tempo last Saturday (19/4).

To date, Ikapi has 900 publishers, 180 of which publish school books.

Through Education Ministerial regulation 2/2008, the government forbids publishers from distributing books if the copyrights are not purchased by the government.

One day earlier, Bambang said that government would purchase the copyrights of 259 school books for elementary to high school, with a budget of Rp20 billion.

Some 49 sets of these books have been purchased, recommended by the National Education Standards Board.

“Members of the general public can download these, copy them, and resell them at no more than the highest retail price,” said Bambang, during a discussion with reporters at the Jakarta Post office.

Book prices are between Rp4,240 and Rp14,100 as printed on the books and determined by the Education Department.

The Grafika Association, said Bambang, was ready to print these cheap books.

The books cover subjects such as the Indonesian language, Math, Natural Science, Social Science, Civil Education, English Study, and other subjects included as productive subjects at vocational schools.

The Minister said he guaranteed the quality of these books in terms of paper and content, and plans to include this in the book draft regulation.

“I hope this can be submitted soon to the President and approved for national users,” said Bambang.

Ninin Damayanti | Cheta Nilawaty