E-book publishing; new business model & new media ecosystem

With the advanced technology, we take advantage of the privilege of the convenience of education. Hence, E-book business are expanding their model which allows readers to read books easily because of  the convenience for the user to obtain the books or digital copy through online with just a few clicks away.

A new media ecosystem has formed with the development of technology like e-reading gadgets which is available in the market now such as the new Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble. (Hill 2012). These gadgets enables to improve reader's reading experience which slowly diminished the presence of books. Hence, fondness has been increasing towards e-books by everyone as it we are able to access a full-text resources  anytime, anywhere we want. 

In July 2010, Amazon announced that the sales of E-books for its Kindle e-book reader are more than the hardcover books on the site.After 6 months,the sales of Kindle books are greater than the paperbacks ( Strange 2012). 

Meanwhile, E-book reading is still not popular in Malaysia as there are still some obstacles and barrier of copyright and censorship for Malaysian to obtain the online books or digital copy through internet. Besides that, the main thing is  that Amazon account is still not available for users in Malaysia as they did not accept credit card from Malaysia (Rozario 2012)

Since Malaysians are not able to buy the books through Amazon, there is a kind of ebook reader from Amazon, known as Kindle. Credit card cannot be used, hence, a substitution of a gift card. A gift card by having a US credit card requirement by having your Malaysian Credit card. This enable you to purchase the gift card under your Malaysian account as a gift for your US based account. 

From my opinion, Malaysians are more sensitive when it comes to money. They think they should not spend unnecessary things on this kind of e-books and they rather get it from bookstores. With this kindle, they can actually purchase iPad or other portable devices. Hence, e-book sales are slightly lower in Malaysia.

References

Strange, A 2012, Amazon U.K. E-Book Sales Surpass Print, PCMAG, viewed 4th June 2013, <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2408135,00.asp>

Hill, S 2012, How to pick the right e-reader, Digital Trends, viewed at 4th June 2013, 

<http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ereader-comparison/>

Rozario, K 2012, Kindle in Malaysia: Buying and Using a Kindle in Malaysia, Viewed at 4th June 2013, <http://www.keithrozario.com/2012/04/kindle-malaysia-buying-ebooks-amazon.html>

 

Book Publishing in Malaysia

source: thestar.com.my

Peter Mayle is a British author famous for his series of books detailing life in France. He published a book in 1984 titled 'Where Did I Come From' describing the reproductive process from intercourse to birth.According to a report by The Star (2012), the Home Ministry has banned the sale and production of  'Where Did I Come From' book due to the contents in the book are no appropriate which could harm the moral of the community. Burrokers (2012), said that this book is deemed too obscene for Malaysia. This book has been sold around 2 million copies and some find it useful, yet some find it offensive and embarrassed as this book might harm their moral values.



According to Kress (1998), every document design must suit with the specific culture before its actually designed and published. Hence, The person to blame here is not so much about the writer because his writings and products may be accepted in his country but this country has a different set of values (Herriman 2012). Sani (2005) stated that the government in Malaysia has restricted media freedom for the purpose of national security and political stability. Although this information might be useful to some individual but i think it is not suitable for kids who are age under 12 as their mind is still not mature and know what exactly is right and wrong. They might be curious of it and have done it accidentally. 

Hence, in my opinion, if this book will to publish, they should should understand their audience, purpose and context. This kind of exposure and knowledge should be known by teenagers who are age above 12 to educate them as they reach their puberty stage.

 
As stated by Kassam (2010, p.99) Malaysia as an islamic country ban books and movies which are "insensitive for religious and moral reasons". Hence, Umno Youth’s Datuk Muhd Khairun Aseh said that many complaints were received due to the book’s graphic description of lovemaking between two people (Chong, 2012). Therefore, this book is banned under section 7 Subsection 1 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 because they contain elements harmful to public morals and the interests of the public (Herriman 2012). Hence, "Malaysia media laws to restrain disemmination of information and journalism ethics are crucial to support national aspirations including those that are definitive and not to gag the mass media, and they have moulded Malaysia into a country that is orderly and harmonious, peaceful and prosperous" (Berita2u.tk 2013). 

 In conclusion, this type of books which are too sexually exposed are not suitable for children under 12. Hence, it is a good decision for Malaysia to ban this book as our culture are different from the culture of the other culture. In order to make sure that no one is publishing it, anyone importing or selling it could face a jail sentence and a fine of up to 20,000 ringgit (BBC 2012).

 References

  BBC News, 2012, Malaysia 'Bans' Peter Mayle Book Where Did I Come From, viewed 1st June 2013, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17112635>.

 Berita2u.1k 2013, Country in Chaos if No Media Laws: Media Specialists, viewed 1st June 2013, <http://www.berita2u.tk/country-in-chaos-if-no-media-laws-media-specialists/>.

 Burrokers, L 2012, 'Images from the book deemed 'Too Obscene' for Malaysia', viewed 1st June 2013, <http://www.loyarburok.com/2012/02/21/book-obscene/>.

 Chong, D 2012, Home Ministry shelves children’s book on sex education, The Malaysian Insider, viewed  1st June 2013, <http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/home-ministry-shelves-childrens-book-on-sex-education/> 

Herriman, R 2012, Malaysia: banned children's books, "Where Did I Come From" could land you in jail, Examiner.com, viewed 1st June 2013, <http://www.examiner.com/article/malaysia-banned-children-s-book-where-did-i-come-from-could-land-you-jail>

Kassam, Z 2010, Women and Islam, ABC-CLIO, LLC, California. Kress, G & Van Leeuwen, T, 1998, 'Front Pages: The Critical Analysis of a Newspaper Layout', in Bell A, Garret P, 'Approaches to Media Discourse', Blackwell, Oxford Publication, pp. 186 - 219. 

Sani, MAM 2005, 'Media Freedom in Malaysia', ProQuest, Journal of Contemporary Asia, vol. 35, no. 3.

The Star, 2012, Ministry Bans 'Where Did I Come From' book, viewed 1st June 2013, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/22/nation/20120222153939&sec=nation>.