MELAKA, April 23 (Bernama) -- The state government is introducing the Melaka Reading Award this year in an effort to instill a culture of knowledge through reading under the initiative to cultivate a knowledgeable and motivated community.
Melaka Public Library (Perpustam) chairman Datuk Rosli Abdullah said the award focuses on increasing the number of readings and readers as well as targeting more inclusive readers.
"The Melaka Reading Award is also an added value to support the National Reading Decade which aims to create Malaysia as a reading nation and a world-class knowledgeable nation by 2030.
"Through the award, the state government will also give recognition to the Melaka Reader Icon which aims to provide motivation in making reading or information literacy a culture that can improve the quality of life of the community," he said.
He said this when speaking at the Melaka Reading Award Launch Ceremony in conjunction with the state-level Jom Baca Bersama 10 Minutes Programme officiated by the state's Deputy Exco for Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Communications Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem at Bukit Baru here today.
Rosli said the Melaka Reader Icon is divided into categories of children, youth, adults, civil servants and people with disabilities (OKU) to promote reading as a lifestyle in creating a highly knowledgeable community.
He said that apart from the reader icon, the award will also recognise the best readers among individuals who make reading a lifestyle as well as using public library services throughout Melaka.
"Among other recognitions given at the awards is the best knowledge information gateway (best library) for the categories of homes, government offices, private, houses of worship, schools and higher learning institutions.
"Perpustam also created a slogan to support this campaign to encourage reading, which is 'Makin Pedas, Makin Membaca' because it is synonymous with Melaka which is famous for its delicious asam pedas, which is like asam pedas that whets the appetite while reading whets the mind," he said.
He said the campaign for the Melaka Reading Awards would start in April until July 31 and the winner of each category would take home RM3,000 in cash, the runner-up (RM2,000) and the third place (RM1,000) along with a certificate and accompanying trophy.
Meanwhile, he said 1.9 million people were recorded through data collected from the Jom Baca Programme from 2014 until last year in Melaka.
-- BERNAMA
