LIVELY PANEL DISCUSSION AT FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR ON MALAYSIA

By Manik Mehta

FRANKFURT, OCT 9 (Bernama) -- A lively panel discussion ensued today
at a forum of the ongoing Frankfurt International Book Fair, with the breezy
title,"Malaysia: Navigating as Southeast Asia’s Trade and Copyright Hub".

Malaysian exhibitors are making a strong pitch at the fair for their
products and also trying to profile the country as Southeast Asia’s publishing
hub.

The Malaysian contingent comprises 17 exhibiting companies with six under
the aegis of the Malaysian External Trade Corporation (MATRADE). The remaining
eleven are on their own as trade visitors, publishers and agents at
the world’s largest book fair.

The discussion panel comprised Arndt Graf, professor for Southeast Asian
studies at the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Mohd. Sabri Abdul Rahman,
Malaysian Trade Commissioner in Frankfurt and Ariel Hakim Sani Rahmat, the
managing director of PTS Millenia Pte. Ltd.

They had a question and answer session led by Adibah Omar, the assistant
director in the secretariat at the National Book Council of Malaysia,
Ministry of Education.

Graf reminded the forum that the Malaysian government has been investing
heavly in education and creating highly-developed research infrastructure.

"People in Malaysia appreciate reading all kinds of literature from the
scholarly to academic types," he said.

"There is strong interest (in Malaysia) for the study of humanities and
social sciences among others. Many Malaysian authors are publishing in highly
prestigious journals," he added.

Sabri highlighted MATRADE’s role in promoting the publishing business, and
encouraged German and European publishers to seek the organisations guidance and
assistance in finding suitable Malaysian partners.

Arief, who is also the honorary secretary of the Malaysian Book Publishers’
Association, said that Malaysia’s book industry is booming with 168 publishers
and close to 16,000 titles published in 2009.

"The hub we envision for Malaysia is a meeting place for publishers,
writers, literary agents, translators, and all professionals involved in the
publishing business from Malaysia, ASEAN and globally," he explained in
an interview with Bernama at the Malaysia pavilion of the book fair.

He said that a trade and copyright centre, set up in conjunction with the
Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair, from April 20-23 next year, will
not only see participation of most Malaysian publishers but also many big
players from the ASEAN region.

"It highlights the fast expanding regional translation market and strong
framework for intellectual property rights, plus the convenience of brokering
deals for multiple language versions of a single publication, all at once," he
explained.

According to Arief, it was unfortunate that for Malaysia, the country has
remained below the radar of global publishing agents.

"But this is going to change.In fact, it is already changing. There has been
a dearth of international support for Malaysian publishers.

"However, demand for books and translation of books is expanding very
rapidly. My advice to foreign publishers is, to not just look at Malaysia but
the entire Southeast Asia region, which is a huge market," he added.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is from Oct 6-10.

-- BERNAMA