On this date 10 years ago, when Soeharto ended his 32-year iron-fisted rule, the country's economy was in total chaos, partly – some say mostly – because of the president's inability to control the greed of his children and cronies.

Ten years later, it is difficult for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – as it was for his three predecessors – to convince the nation things have improved since Soeharto's fall. Is it true that there hasn't been any progress in the last 10 years?

The government is still unable to lift the economy from the brink of collapse to full recovery. Now we are just waiting for President Yudhoyono's to work up the courage to announce fuel price increases. Although we cannot totally blame the government for our economic hardships, most people had hoped the country will be able to achieve more significant economic growth under the leadership of a directly elected president.

We are willing to acknowledge that the President is an intelligent man and was a decent Army general, and that he has worked very hard for the country. However, the economy continues to struggle under his leadership.

Despite the gloomy economic picture, democracy continues to blossom. For 53 years, the country was controlled by Sukarno and Soeharto, both of whom could be categorized as dictators. In the past 10 years, we have had four presidents, with Yudhoyono directly elected in 2004. It is not for self-consolation when we say it is an amazing achievement that Indonesia has been able to transform itself after five decades of dictatorship into the world's third largest democracy, after India and the United States.

Our democracy is still at a very fragile state, but we are going in the right direction to realize our goal of creating a civil society. Of course, it is clear that the Indonesian Military (TNI) often finds it difficult to resist the temptation to regain the power it enjoyed under Soeharto's rule.

Corruption is our biggest enemy. Unfortunately many Indonesians think they have to live with corruption because they just don't know how to deal with the deadly "virus".

Violence, intolerance, malfunctioning law enforcement and unemployment are all alarming. However, we have passed one of the most difficult parts in transforming ourselves into a solid civil society.

Many people now remember good things about Soeharto. Just like during the post-1945 independence era when many people remembered good things about the colonial power, many people now miss Soeharto's leadership. But we should not forget that Soeharto damaged the country so severely that we are still dealing with the consequences. Initially he was the father of development, but later he became a destroyer. The economy may have been better under Soeharto, but at what cost? Today, we remember those who sacrificed their lives and futures to overthrow Soeharto. Most are unknown heroes. Thousands of students risked their lives because they knew that Soeharto and his regime had to be stopped at all costs. At that time many privileged people jeered at the students.

Ten years have passed. Soeharto died in January. We are still unable to recover from the economic disaster. But we need to remember that we deserve to take pride in our democracy. There are growing concerns that Islam in Indonesia is becoming more conservative, even intolerant. But we should not forget that Islam in Indonesia has proven itself for centuries to be a peaceful, tolerant and democratic religion.

We should not retreat from the path of democracy because we are going in the right direction. However, when people's living conditions continue to worsen, more and more people will ask, "Is democracy a blessing or a curse?"

In the coming days we will witness the young sons and daughters of this nation take to the streets to voice their opposition against planned fuel price increases. They will perhaps be noisy. But when we remember what the young people did 10 years ago, we are definitely proud of them.