Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – Malang Mayor Drs. H. Sutiaji hopes that the level of community literacy can be increased with the aim of increasing knowledge and insight through reading books.
This was conveyed by the Mayor of Malang when attending the 16th Anniversary of Intrans Publishing with the title 'Writing, Changing the Face of Civilization' which was held at the Atria Hotel, Saturday (7/9/2019).
Literacy issues, said Sutiaji, are not only a problem in Malang City, but are also a national problem. Therefore, efforts to increase public literacy through reading books must be carried out by targeting various groups.
"It must be admitted that Malang City's literacy is still weak. Reading books is still lacking, therefore we are determined to continue to improve literacy," said Sutiaji.
It is also said that the world of science has no age limit and must be explored by anyone. Therefore, reading activities which are one way to open the horizon of science must be more active and of course there is a role for the government in it.
"Therefore, I invite you, let's improve this from Malang for Indonesia and even more so for the world," he said.
On that occasion, Sutiaji also asked universities to conduct research so that the results can be directly felt by the community.
"There are many universities in Malang City. Therefore, I ask the leaders of universities so that research can be directly 'landing' and the results are felt by the community," he explained.
The Mayor of Malang also shared his experience as a book reviewer while still a student. "When I was in college, I was a book reviewer. The proceeds from writing were for daily expenses and to pay for college," he said.
Sutiaji hopes that the role of various parties, especially book publishers and universities, can effectively increase interest in reading books in the community, so that the level of literacy and knowledge of citizens also increases. (Em/yon)
