Malaysian Book Academy

Assalamualaikum...
Bonjour, Bon week-end.

This morning, i was just having breakfast when i received a call from Mullah alerted me about an interesting article in NST about Malaysian Book Academy.
Soon after that, i sat in front of my laptop and started to search for Malaysian Book Academy in the internet. I hope to find any website for the so-called MBA, instead i found only 3 results for it. All of it were editorial article from BERNAMA and NST.

It's a bit disappointment to see there's no real structure or 'black & white' for the MBA (in the internet). Obviously it is BIG since it was being launched by Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, and being jointly organized by DBP, National Library and National Book Development Foundation. But perhaps it's too early to tell, so i'll just wait and hope anxiously for any develoment of this MBA.

In one of the article from BERNAMA, it was being said that the book publishing industry in Malaysia has yet to reach the desired standard with its rate of publication of about 9000 titles per year. While some of you may think that's a good number, it was actually pale compared to Taiwan, which has about the same population as Malaysia, but has published about 30,000 titles per year alone...!
I pray, this Malaysian Book Academy wil become the boost that we sorely need to spread the interest of reading among Malaysians. I really do...
And below, i attached the full article from NST about our readng habit in Malaysia (sigh...)


EDITORIAL: Booking into reading habit
Given the insatiable appetite for more TV channels and the voracity with which youngsters devour computers and high-tech gadgets, a further slide in the reading habit would not be surprising. One can argue, of course, that going online also involves reading. The question is, do we want the language of the chatroom and email to be the dominant influence?

Already we are a nation of two books. In 1996, it was found that the average Malaysian reads only two books a year. A study in 2005 by the National Library found no improvement to this figure. Could it be because reading is demanding while audiovisual devices require neither discipline nor the proper co-ordination between one's synapses and neurons?

While offering information and entertainment, books also provide an architecture to make sense of life. More importantly, reading civilises our inner self. And in a multiracial nation such as Malaysia, a passion for reading about each other's ways can help prevent cultural or religious conflict. Which is why any move to improve the reading habit among Malaysians -- such as the establishment of the Malaysian Book Academy -- is most welcome. The academy, launched on Friday, aims to train people for the book publication industry, and encourage writers. Admittedly, past efforts do not appear to have turned Malaysians into rapacious readers. Which is why, bearing in mind that the availability of more books does not equate to a greater readership, the academy must work in tandem with bodies such as the Education Ministry and libraries if it is to produce results.

Those who warn that the demise of books is imminent may be astonished to know that books are the No. 1 selling item on the Internet, most of it through Amazon.com. Its e-book device, Kindle, is so popular it has been sold out. But whether it is a book or an e-book, one cannot escape the fact that reading is required. The diplomat George F. Kennan observed that everything was spelled out for the child watching the TV but, by contrast, reading involved thinking and imagination. "The child, particularly one who reads a book dealing with real life," he said, "has nothing before it but the hieroglyphics of the printed page. Imagination must do the rest." And wasn't it Albert Einstein who said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge"?