MDDI's Response to PQ on Language Distribution of NLB Children's Book Collection and Proportion of Malay Children's Books Published in Bahasa Indonesia

Parliament Sitting on 3 March 2026

Questions for Written Answer

10 Mr Fadli Fawzi asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) what is the number and percentage of children's books in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil in the National Library Board's borrowing collection; and (b) of the children's books in the Malay collection, what is the number and percentage of books published in Bahasa Indonesia.

Answer

The National Library Board (NLB) offers a collection of 3.72 million books, including physical books, e-books and audiobooks, in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil for children aged zero to 12 years old. Of this, (a) 74% are 11 English language books (approx. 2,749,400 books); (b) 18% are Chinese language books (approx. 680,300 books); (c) 5% are Malay language books (approx. 167,100 books), including around 22,500 books (13% of Malay language books) in Bahasa Indonesia; and (d) 3% are Tamil language books (approx. 118,900 books).