Joe Cochrane – Black it out, Indonesia, black... it... out. Don't give another thought to 2010, because if you do, you might just recall what really happened during what was a torrid year.

With a few days of breathing space, it's time to take a no-nonsense look back on the abomination that was 2010. It began with the resurgence of Suharto-era political-business figures, who ran reform-minded Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati literally out of the country. The year ended with those same figures holding even more power and being as impervious to the law as they were in decades past.

Wasn't it Sri Mulyani herself who said that a cabal of vested interests were attempting to "hijack" Indonesia's hard-won democratic and economic successes for their own narrow benefit? What happened to her was arguably the most important story of 2010 in Indonesia, given the brazen way in which the most talented, reform-minded official in government was shown the door.

But that story drifted away by April and was overtaken by political fights, protests, natural disasters, a sex video scandal and a "successful" ban on pornographic Web sites that actually never happened.

Similarly, the other big story of 2010 – the ongoing corruption, malfeasance and abuse of power by the National Police – was also largely forgotten by the end of the year. That is impressive considering that the Boys in Brown were, rightly or wrongly, accused of: Fabricating evidence to frame two anticorruption officials; torturing detained activists in Maluku; gagging a prominent police whistle-blower by throwing him in jail; allegedly being behind the beating of an activist who helped publicize the existence of multimillion-dollar bank accounts belonging to senior police officials; whitewashing an investigation into those same accounts; and taking bribes to let suspects out of detention.

But by December, all that was eclipsed by the Gayus Tambunan scandal. Ironically, the Gayus case, while certainly deserving a Top 5 place in the 2010 roll call, is just a symptom of the larger disease of corruption afflicting the National Police, the Attorney General's Office, the judiciary and the tax office.

It makes one wonder whether crime would increase or decrease if these state institutions were shut down.

Of course, let's give an honorable mention to the House of Representatives, whose shameless behavior seemingly knows no limits. It is certainly not an easy task to be corrupt, abuse your position, waste public funds and then try to act like the guardians of morality. Same goes for many high-ranking officials. Is it O.K. to enforce a ridiculous antipornography law while turning a blind eye to alleged extramarital affairs by two cabinet ministers and rape allegations against a lawmaker from the president's Democratic Party?

And what do we make of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 2010? The overwhelming perception is that he appeased political forces to maintain harmony at the expense of the larger reform agenda and his own anticorruption drive. I'm not so sure.

Yudhoyono is the first directly elected (and re-elected) president in Indonesian history, and was only six years removed from Suharto's final days when he took office in 2004. It's a bit much to expect him to benignly wield massive power when the country is going through a deliberate system of decentralizing political and economic power. Maybe the president did the best he could, given the realities of the political landscape in 2010.

But certainly he could have shown better judgment. I'm not even going to mention his governing "coalition," which has as many political enemies inside it as allies. In other matters, his handling of the fallout of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) bribery scandal was lacking, as he seemingly protected the police. He also vowed not to interfere in the country's legal system, but then waded straight into the "Peterporn" sex tape mess by encouraging the police to go after everyone involved. Apparently Yudhoyono felt the sex tapes embarrassed Indonesia internationally, but he fails to realize that knee-jerk reactions to such events draw international attention and scorn. Did anyone even notice the movie "Balibo" before it was banned in Indonesia?

Same goes for Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika and his provincial police force, which made complete fools of themselves in April by rounding up "alleged gigolos" and trying to extradite a Singaporean filmmaker who made a very truthful documentary on the worst-kept secret in Indonesia: Balinese beach boys romancing female tourists.

The gigolo story, the Ariel/Luna/Cut Tari sex tapes, the return of violent radical Muslim groups, the Alterina Hofan male/female chromosome trial and many other headlines that came and went show that Indonesia's moral compass was out of whack in 2010. Do I need mention the country's infant mortality rate, or the fact that 100 million Indonesians live on less than $2 a day?

But was 2010 all bad? Certainly not. Look at Indonesia's economic rise, with a record-breaking stock market, newfound respect among global economic players, visits by heads of large multinational companies, not to mention a homecoming by Barack Obama.

But these are just a few of many positive things that make Indonesia one of the places to be in the coming decade. Look at the positive changes in society: The dazzling continuing influence of the Internet and online activism, the power of the press, the strength of voters in local elections. And back to economics, how about the many grand plans for infrastructure development, land reform, economic expansion, new jobs and the rising middle class? These all deserve their places in the sun of 2010.

A few months ago, I met an Indonesian businessman who eloquently summed up the country's current situation like this: "The middle class, we are lucky, but the masses are suffering right now. But also remember that Indonesia's democracy is going through teething pains. Both will eventually get better."

I certainly can't disagree with his view because I share it. But at the same time, it's important to experience, understand and demand accountability from the powers that be for those teething pains the country will feel along the way to unprecedented heights.

That sounds a lot more prudent – and fun – than just blacking it out.

[Joe Cochrane is a contributing editor for the Jakarta Globe. His writings appear at www.datelinejakarta.com.]