REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Industry Minister MS Hidayat said Indonesia had to develop its Quran Paper (QPP) because it had export quality and the Quran printed with the QPP could last for 100 years.

"Indonesia should continue to develop its export products which have added values," the minister said on Sunday.

The minister made the remarks in connection with the donation of 100 thousand copies of the Quran by pulp producer Asian Pulp and Paper (APP) as a form of its social responsibility in the current fasting month. Minister MS Hidayat said he hailed the company`s donation.

"Building the nation in various aspects, including in the mental and spiritual aspects, is a shared responsibility. Therefore, I appreciated the APP`s step to donate copies of the Quran as a form of its social responsibility," the minister said.

The copies of the Quran donated by the APP were printed using domestically produced QPP by PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper in Tangerang, Banten. The Quran Paper is claimed to have a special print and texture quality which is light, soft, strong and could last for 100 years if the Quran is used in normal way.

About 80-90 percent of this paper production is exported, particularly to the Middle East countries, such as Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon which are centers of Quran printing for the world. Corporate Affairs Director of APP Suhendra Wiriadinata said APP had the initiative to donate copies of the Quran to help people who needed them.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs predicted that the people needed some two million copies of the Quran in 2011. But up to now, the national printing capacity of the Holy Book only reached about 50 thousand to 60 thousand copies.

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