She actually thinks I am being a bit anti-social by sticking my nose in a book in the evening instead of following the vast stream of bilge that issues forth from the TV. Like Chris, my missus isn’t stupid and she isn’t poor but she simply doesn’t care about books or reading.

No, nothing to do with poverty, Indonesians just aren’t interested in reading (a wild generalisation I grant you). The example of Riau has to be followed in other regions.Ħ0 Comments on “Reading Habits & Poverty” There was one bright spot, he said, that being the province of Riau, where the Governor had built a very big and comprehensive public library right next door to his own office building: antara How many local politicians campaign on building up library infrastructure? However on at least the first point – libraries – Tantowi said Indonesia still had very far to go in providing adequate public facilities, and that most regional government heads had little interest in developing library facilities: Tantowi Yahya extolling the virtues of reading parents, especially mothers, should read in front of their children regularly, to sow an interest in reading in their spawn.libraries from the national down to the village level, to enable poor people access to books for free.He suggested two methods to ameliorate the problem: Poor families would naturally prioritise food, school fees, and school textbooks, over the purchase of recreational reading material. “Above all it’s based on economic factors, on whether families can afford to buy books and newspapers.”

Reading Ambassador (Duta Baca Indonesia), television celebrity Tantowi Yahya said at the proclamation event in Pontianak for the “West Kalimantan Reads” movement that Indonesians were not voracious readers for largely reasons of poverty:

Baca kho ping hoo