When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in for his second term on this day a year ago, he promised to boost prosperity, justice and democracy.

"The essence of the five-year program is the enhancement of people's welfare, and the strengthening of democracy and justice," the president said during his inaugural address.

But it has been one year on, and some critics say they are struggling to see how his government has translated those words into results.

Prosperity

"Raising people's prosperity is the main priority," Yudhoyono said last year. "We want to increase the welfare of the people."

On the economic front, the outlook appears good: Investment is increasing, the rupiah remains strong and steady and the stock market has been bullish over the past year.

But Juniman, chief economist at Bank Internasional Indonesia, said the country's strong performance had come on the back of good underlying fundamentals, and in spite of the government lacking a detailed economic plan. "We have not seen a real blueprint from SBY's economic team in the past year," he said.

Suryo Bambang Sulisto, the new chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), acknowledged that economic growth had been good, but said it could be better if the government helped boost exports and supported growth in the industrial sector.

Growth in exports, said Sofyan Wanandi, head of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), was largely a rebound from sharp declines last year amid the crisis and strong demand for the nation's natural resources.

As for the industrial sector, Sofyan said the government had failed to develop crucial infrastructure. "In general, I give them a bad report card because they don't seem to be cooperating very well to remove bottlenecks for businesses," he said.

Social Issues

When it comes to the "management of natural resources and enhanced human resources" part of Yudhoyono's pledge, the government's actions left much to be desired, according to activists. "Indonesia will remain at the forefront of efforts to save the earth from climate change," Yudhoyono promised.

Indeed, on the international stage, the president is seen to be adopting a strong stance with his 26 percent emissions reduction target and the signing of a two-year deforestation moratorium as part of a grant deal with Norway. But environmentalists say it all seems to be just a public relations exercise, while implementation has been left wanting.

"Stop with the image politics, it is not increasing people's welfare and not changing our environmental situation," said Chalid Muhammad, chairman of the Indonesian Green Institute. "If he's sincere, then the people will follow."

Rhino Subagyo, executive director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, said the same was true of the 2009 Law on Environmental Management and Protection, which was widely praised when it was passed. "It should have made a radical change, but in practice, nothing has changed at all," he said.

As for the health sector, Hasbullah Thabrany, a public health expert from University of Indonesia, said the government had made some progress, though much remained to be done. "Hospitals and other medical facilities still dictate and medical services are not pro-patient," he said.

A number of media reports this year showed some poor patients going as far as putting their children up for adoption just to pay off hospital bills. "The medical costs in some parts of Indonesia are even more expensive than in Malaysia – this is ridiculous," Hasbullah said.

Justice

"We also want to build a civilized democratic system, a democracy that provides room for freedom and political rights," Yudhoyono said. "We also want to create a justice system that is marked by respect for nondiscriminatory practices and equal opportunity."

The war on corruption has always been one of Yudhoyono's most prominent campaign tools. After he secured his second term, he formed the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, and corrupt practices inside the penal system, the National Police and even the Tax Tribunal were unraveled.

But the antigraft drive now appears to be waning. Activists and even suspects themselves question why no senior officials have been indicted in the Gayus Tambunan-Tax Office scandal.

Reports of large sums of money in several high-ranking police officers' bank accounts also faded away after the police said an internal investigation revealed most funds were not connected to criminal activities.

Indonesia Corruption Watch has claimed that more than 50 percent of graft cases handled by the courts in the first half of this year ended in acquittals.

"The president could have used landmark cases as starting points to go in and clear out law enforcement bodies," said Emerson Yuntho, ICW's deputy chairman. "But they just ended up as a political tool to bolster his rule."

Al Araf, program director of rights group Imparsial, said the government had also failed to resolve long-standing human rights abuse cases. "The [military] reform has failed because military officials continue to exert violence without any criminal prosecution of the perpetrators," he said.

Democracy

"We must maintain our identity, our Indonesianness... Our Indonesianness is reflected in our pluralism, or our unity in diversity, our decency, tolerance and moderation, openness and sense of humanity," Yudhoyono said.

This pluralism has come under attack recently with an alarming increase in communal and religious conflicts across the country. Anarchy also appears to be spreading with hard-line groups, like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), acting with impunity.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said Yudhoyono had to some degree supported religious freedom and tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim country.

"The president has made repeated calls for religious tolerance and for cases of attacks against religious minorities to be prosecuted," he said.

"However, at a policy level, the government continues to enforce the ban on Ahmadiyah, the decree on building houses of worships and the 1965 Law on Blasphemy. These regulations are unconstitutional and inhibit religious freedom."

In Makassar on Tuesday, the president said the government respected criticism as part and parcel of democracy, but he reminded the public to look at things from a broader perspective and not to focus on the negative.

"If one province is deemed to have failed, then it falls on the government to answer" for it, Yudhoyono told a meeting of governors. However, the government also had the right to explain itself to the people, he added.