Indonesia's independence, it is said, was born in the shade of two great trees -- one named Sukarno, the other named Hatta.

It was a seed rooted in events which changed the course of national history and fertilized by courageous men and women who desired a nation better then what they had been unjustly allotted.

Beyond the traditional fun and games which mark the annual festivities on many city corners and in the country's 63,000 villages, Independence Day is an occasion to reflect upon the advances and retreats of a nation now firmly established as the world's third largest democracy.

In a special edition of the magazine, Mimbar Indonesia, published to mark the third anniversary of independence in 1948, Mohammad Hatta wrote that "obtaining power means accepting the responsibility equivalent to the authority acquired".

The words of Indonesia's soft-spoken first vice president reflect the posture of later generations who took it upon themselves to bear the burdens of a struggling nation. They were determined they would not succumb to circumstances, no matter how overwhelming they might be.

We do not have to look back 63 years and further to assess the impact of the republic's ideals.

There have been significant events over the past decade which are foundational for our future, not least of which was the 2004 presidential election, the first of its kind in the archipelago.

It was as momentous a turning point in Indonesia's latter history as were the dawn of Indonesian nationalism in 1908, the Youth Pledge of 1928 and, arguably, the Aug. 17, 1945, proclamation itself.

Like their forefathers before them, the Indonesian people in 2004 seized the day, turning out in the hundreds to elect a leader.

History is not static. A corner has been turned -- the consequences of that singular event also include judgment.

And history will show that the victor in the 2004 election is performing well below expectations despite the overwhelming political mandate he received.

If our first president's brashness enabled him to disregard his own limitations -- memento mori -- then our first democratically elected president is bereft of a carpe diem persona which typified so many great Indonesian figures.

Fraught by vacillation and a decision-making style which is proving just too costly, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is quickly proving himself incapable of maximizing the privileges bestowed by independence.

Tragedies, disaster and a challenging global environment contribute to a leadership style requiring a degree of prudence.

But it is truly the president's over-calculated politics of appeasement which have led to an indecisive government held ransom by big business and fringe politics.

This was not the vision of our nation's founding fathers.

Yudhoyono would do well to steer away from Sukarno's penchant for banal pseudo philosophizing, but he can learn much from the first president's fearless determination to fulfill the vision of the republic.

"Only a nation with the courage to determine its own fate," Sukarno remarked in his address before reading out the independence proclamation, "can sustain itself to stand strong."

But the failings in recent years are no cause for overwhelming pessimism.

There have been darker days which the nation has overcome by tapping into its endless pool of unity, courage and devotion inherent in the spirit of independence.

We are one independence celebration away from determining the next president, whether it be the incumbent, another former president or a new face altogether.

The Indonesian people should greet this prospect with confidence and prepare themselves to seize the day the way their forefathers did 63 years ago.

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