Kota Kinabalu: The cooperation of all parties, including the government and the private sector, is essential to address the difficulty in marketing creative literary works, especially in the state, lamented the Third Sabah Literary Award recipient, Sukor Usin.
Sukor, 62, who goes by the pen name, Hasyuda Abadi, said that this was worrying as creative literary works were easy to find online in the form of e-books, but the physical books could not be sold in bookstores.
Advanced technology has made the public, especially the younger generation, choose digital books, but he also explained the importance of having physical books in the library, for personal collections and in rural areas which lack internet access.
To resolve the issue, he suggested that authors produce works which cater to the tastes or needs of the public, especially the younger generation.
“Authors need to be sensitive to the needs of the reader, for example, their preferred theme, the target audience and so on. Setting up a book marketing centre in collaboration with all parties is also important.
“There should be a synergy with relevant agencies, such as the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the Writers Association or students’ associations in the institutions of higher learning,” he said.
“Political leaders could also use some of their annual funds to buy as many books of local authors as possible, to be distributed to libraries in their respective constituencies, including government departments and private premises,” he said.
He also suggested that, in an effort to inculcate reading habits in the community, more printing financing funds be given to relevant agencies, such as the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka or to private publishers.
Sukor was announced as the recipient of the Third Sabah Literary Award, held in December last year. Thus far, he has produced 50 short stories, 1,454 poems, 244 literary essays and 14 drama scripts, which are mostly about humanity, dakwah, politics and the environment.
The Beaufort-born author has been actively involved in creative writing since 1979 and has worked in several government departments, including the Sabah Broadcasting Department in 1979 and the Sabah Election Office in 1985, before retiring in 2015.
He also founded Rumah Puisi Hasyuda Abadi (RupHA), in Kampung Gudon Menggatal, Kota Kinabalu, which houses a mini library and provides Quran studies.
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