©The Star (Used by permission)
KUALA LUMPUR: Although Malaysia has among the highest literacy rates in South–East Asia, Malaysians prefer light reading material like newspapers and magazines to books.
According to literacy statistics, out of 85% of Malaysians who read regularly, 77% of them prefer newspapers, 3% read magazines, 3% read books and 1.6% read comics.
“If we were to compare with American citizens, 53% of them read fiction and 43% of them read non–fiction books.
“Malaysians are more inclined to read light material while citizens from developed countries read books,” Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said at the launch of the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair 2009 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.
The text of his speech was read out by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The UN Development Programme’s 2007/2008 report said the literacy rate of Malaysians, at 93.2%, was behind developed countries like Japan, Britain, the United States, Australia and Germany, which have literacy rates of 99%.
“We still have room for improvement in terms of increasing the literacy rate to 99% by 2020 and the quality of material that we read. Parents play an important role in nurturing the reading habit among their children.
“Students should read more books, not just revision books or textbooks for examinations,” he said.
The organiser of the book fair has targeted 2.5 million visitors this year. Last year, 2.2 million people visited the book fair compared with 700,000 in 2006.
Muyhiddin also said that more bookstores should be opened in the country. Currently, 45% of bookstores are in the Klang Valley, 20% in Penang and Perak, while Johor has 10%.
Book fair organiser Datuk Ivan Hoe said Malaysians thought twice about spending money on books but not on food.
“They forget that books are intellectual food,” he said.
According to literacy statistics, out of 85% of Malaysians who read regularly, 77% of them prefer newspapers, 3% read magazines, 3% read books and 1.6% read comics.
“If we were to compare with American citizens, 53% of them read fiction and 43% of them read non–fiction books.
“Malaysians are more inclined to read light material while citizens from developed countries read books,” Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said at the launch of the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair 2009 at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.
The text of his speech was read out by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The UN Development Programme’s 2007/2008 report said the literacy rate of Malaysians, at 93.2%, was behind developed countries like Japan, Britain, the United States, Australia and Germany, which have literacy rates of 99%.
“We still have room for improvement in terms of increasing the literacy rate to 99% by 2020 and the quality of material that we read. Parents play an important role in nurturing the reading habit among their children.
“Students should read more books, not just revision books or textbooks for examinations,” he said.
The organiser of the book fair has targeted 2.5 million visitors this year. Last year, 2.2 million people visited the book fair compared with 700,000 in 2006.
Muyhiddin also said that more bookstores should be opened in the country. Currently, 45% of bookstores are in the Klang Valley, 20% in Penang and Perak, while Johor has 10%.
Book fair organiser Datuk Ivan Hoe said Malaysians thought twice about spending money on books but not on food.
“They forget that books are intellectual food,” he said.