'Booktrucks' bridge reading gap between urban and rural communities

FRANKFURT: Malaysia is now one step ahead in terms of innovation in acquiring knowledge with a new mobile bookstore concept known as "booktruck", according to PTS Media Group managing director Arief Hakim Sani Rahmat.
He said PTS booktrucks that were introduced earlier this year, were gaining a foothold among reading fans, especially school students.
"They (booktruck operators) play an important role in making access to books easy.
"I think the booktrucks have been able to bridge the reading gap between those in urban and rural areas," he said when met after a dialogue session representing Malaysia here Wednesday.
The dialogue session was held in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair 2017 (FBF 2017) which will be held for five days from today until Oct 15, with the participation of some 300,000 book publishers from around the globe.
Arief Hakim Sani said there were 30 booktrucks in operation as of now, delivering books directly to consumers in Peninsular Malaysia.
According to him, the response from the public was encouraging, and he is optimistic about expanding the service to Sabah and Sarawak in the near future.
In this regard, he called on various parties, especially Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) to collaborate with PTS, to make it a success.
"We can see that the booktrucks which actively roll out each week will boost the reading culture among Malaysians," he said, adding that the group was targeting for an increase of between 100 and 200 booktrucks.
On the cost of modifying a vehicle to become a booktruck, Arief Hakim Sani said it was between RM80,000 and RM250,000, depending on the vehicle size.
"We welcome any public or private agency that can help entrepreneurs who are interested in operating this service," he said.
He said the success of the innovation had become a benchmark for the growing reading culture among Malaysians. — Bernama