Perempuan Membaca Club declared Malaysia's largest reading club
The Kota Buku initiative now has about 5,000 registered members and will be expanded nationwide.
Kelab Perempuan Membaca, an initiative under Perbadanan Kota Buku (Kota Buku), was today officially declared the largest reading club in Malaysia.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the recognition was not merely a symbolic achievement but reflected the commitment of women in elevating the culture of knowledge as a key nation-building agenda.
She said reading habits among women should be nurtured from a young age and sustained across generations to create a strong reading and knowledge ecosystem for the country's future.
"When we talk about women reading, it is not just about reading itself but how reading is part of the nation-building agenda," she said in her speech at the Kelab Perempuan Membaca programme in Kuala Lumpur today. (Translated quote)
Commenting on the programme, Fadhlina said the initiative did not merely gather book lovers but served as a platform to strengthen the culture of knowledge by encouraging members to share reading material based on a monthly theme.
She said the theme chosen for this session, "Perempuan dan Negara" (Women and the Nation), provided space to highlight works on the role of women in shaping society's civilisation.
She also called for more works documenting the experiences and contributions of prominent Malaysian women, to serve as references and inspiration for future generations.
The club will continue meeting monthly as part of the Gerakan Membaca Negara, which is carried out organically, while encouraging members to share their own reading material.
Meanwhile, Kota Buku chief executive officer Adibah Omar, when met after the programme, said the club — launched at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair last June — would be expanded nationwide through collaborations with various parties.
She said the move followed positive feedback from women across the country who wished to join but faced location constraints as they were based outside the Klang Valley.
"If any party wishes to work with Kota Buku to organise it in their own state, let us know. We are opening the doors as wide as possible so that we can together develop groups of women readers nationwide," she said. (Translated quote)
The club currently has about 5,000 registered members, who are encouraged to read various titles based on the set monthly theme. — Bernama
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