Association: Books aplenty, distribution is a problem

PETALING JAYA: The lack of school textbooks in bookshops is because of delays in shipping due to the movement control order.

Malaysian Book Publishers Association (Mapoba) honorary secretary Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor said there were books available with major textbook publishers.

“But there may be uneven distribution at the retailers due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic, ” he told The Star yesterday.

Sheikh Faisal said panic buying at the onset of the MCO might also have contributed to the problem.

He said parents of those who were supposed to get free textbooks ended up buying for their kids instead.

“The MCO has not only affected logistics but business in general, ” he added.

He said retailers were carefully managing their stock, adding that the situation “should be back to normal very soon”.

In the meantime, he said parents could purchase the books online.

A book retailer, who wanted to be known as Angela, said often times, retailers were told by the distributors that the books needed to be reprinted to meet demand.

“Furthermore, it takes longer to deliver to Sabah and Sarawak, ” she said.

Her shop is in Sabah.

“We have no choice but to tell our customers to wait but we do not know when the books would arrive, ” said Angela.