The Malaysian Insight

GOVERNMENT-LINKED Malaysian Institute of Translation & Books (ITBM) is seeking the assistance of ministries and agencies to buy its books to help it overcome its financial difficulties.

Its managing director, Sakri Abdullah, said ITBM has approached ministries with book packages they can purchase from the institute.

“We have written and sent package offers to the appropriate ministries. Each ministry has a reading room and we have offered our book packages for that space.

“With their help, we can maintain our operations. We can pay off debts and our translators’ fees. Right now, it is difficult because the focus is more on payroll,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“Agencies, such as Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Mara and Felda all have reading rooms. We have submitted our offer,” he said.

ITBM is scaling down its operations by 50% to ensure that it can keep functioning. Half of its 116 staff members face the axe.

Sakri also hoped that the Education Ministry could assist in the purchase of books for distribution in schools, as it had done three years ago.

He said buying translated works from ITBM was a crucial aspect of the government’s social responsibility to promote translated literary works.

He added that the government could benefit with the use of ITBM’s expertise in the field of translation, especially concerning government documents.

“Education Minister Maszlee Malik has been striving to make ITBM the official translation body, which would be beneficial to the government.

“We have 16 permanent translators and more than 1,500 professional translators registered under us. Monitoring translation accurately is another function of the ITBM.

“Everyone thinks language translation is easy, but it’s not. There are certain techniques and skills (that need to be employed).”

Yesterday, The Malaysian Insight reported that ITBM would scale down operations to keep from going under.

ITBM staff were informed about a month ago that about half of them would be laid off.

The company also lacks the financial means to offer staff a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) and will only give one month’s salary as compensation.

The company, owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc, was established in 1993 to handle translation matters.

In 2011, after 18 years in operation, former prime minister Najib Razak’s administration added a new mandate for it to publish original works of Malaysian authors and change its name from ITNM to ITBM.

The new scope of the ITBM was for translation and publishing original material.

It is understood that the monthly operational cost of ITBM is RM500,000, and that it has accrued a debt of RM9.5 million. – November 14, 2019.