By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
SHAH ALAM, Dec 8 — Inisiatif Buku Darul Ehsan (IBDE) has recorded sales of over RM30,000 at the 2022 Selangor International Book Fair (SIBF) as it enters the eighth day today.
Its Sales and Marketing manager Ainunl Muaiyanah Muhammad Sulaiman said the amount exceeded the total sales at the Selangor Book Fair last year, which was about RM27,000.
“The RM30,000 in sales is the result of selling more than 400 copies of 67 different titles of books.
“IBDE is targeting total sales of RM50,000 at 2022 SIBF,” she told SelangorKini.
Ainunl Muaiyanah said the exhibition booth received more than 500 visitors each day and expects more visitors this weekend.
Meanwhile, three books translated by IBDE have become the main choice for visitors since the first day of the book fair.
The works are “Penyucian Kalbu: Tanda Penyakit Hati dan Penawarnya” (Purification of the Heart) by Hamza Yusuf and “Muhammad: Riwayat Hidup Berdasarkan Sumber Terawal” (Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources) by Martin Lings.
According to Ainunl Muaiyanah, Michael Pillsbury’s book titled “Rahsia China: Gerak 100 Tahun Atasi Amerika Syarikat” (The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as Global Superpower) is also popular.
“So far, more than 370 copies (for all three books) have been sold for a total of more than RM22,000. These works were also well received in the previous Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair.
“Many were in search of the book after finding out about it from various social media platforms. Some became interested after explanation from our staff,” she said.
IBDE has received a grant from the state government to publish translated books of various genres including history, philosophy and religion with some of them being original manuscripts dating thousands of years old.
The 2022 SIBF is held at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Convention Centre from December 1 until December 11, from 10am to 10pm.
There are 295 exhibition booths participating in the event, which includes 13 international exhibitors involving China, Singapore and Indonesia.
