Come the country’s Independence Day there is often cynicism about the word.  We say, the country was colonised by the Dutch for over three hundred years, then the Japanese for three years.  And, for the last 66 years oppressed by our own fellow citizens through oppression and corruption.  Indonesia might be a free country, but we are not free from the   shackles that prevent us from truly enjoying our freedom:  poverty, inequality and lack of education.

We also say that the long legacy of our colonial past has instilled in us a mental condition that renders us too timorous to raise our banner of freedom and claim our place in the sun along with other free nations.  A condition known as inferiority complex, characterized by a feeling of general inadequacy even when unmerited on the one hand, with a display of petulant pride on the other, as if by way of compensation.

Moreover, the shenanigans and perfidy constantly exhibited by our freely elected government and representatives, and followed with microscopic attention by our media, creating a sorry backdrop to our everyday life and collective consciousness, only reinforce the notion that, left to our selves, we cannot even be trusted to elect leaders that are not self-serving or incompetent.  Leaders who, despite the complexities of the country, has an understanding of where to steer the people and never lose sight of the destination.