Last year, which marked the beginning of the 21st century, was a difficult one throughout the world, as symbolized by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

But it was also a particularly tough one for Indonesia, where the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid, the first democratically established government after the nation's independence, collapsed. The year ended before the administration of Megawati Sukarnoputri, who took over the reins of the failed government, could make any substantial accomplishments.

In particular, it failed to do anything to clear up the suspected wrongdoing of the family and followers of former President Suharto, even though the matter was the focus of public attention and is one of the greatest tasks the new government was expected to tackle.

Neither did the reorganization of banks needed to rebuild the nation's ailing economy advance as planned and the slow progress is expected to have a negative impact on the advancement of economic reconstruction.

For example, the government requested that all banks in Indonesia raise their capital adequacy ratio to 8 percent by the end of last year. The ratio is an indicator of soundness of bank management. However, some banks that received injections of government funds to increase their capital failed to meet that requirement. Even some banks that were believed to be healthy fell into financial difficulties and were forced to freeze their operation.

The economy, too, remained sluggish. Banks whose outlook for recovery is uncertain are reluctant to lend funds to private businesses. As a result, the real economy and the banking sector are forming a vicious circle.

In terms of social stability, terrorist bombings that grew frequent in 2000 became even more rampant last year. Sporadic bombings occurred throughout the country from December to January this year and it is feared that they could continue to rock the nation.

According to nongovernmental organizations and others, the number of such bombings, which stood at 38 in 2000, grew to at least 90 last year. What is troublesome is the fact that most of them remain unsolved.

Thus, 2001 was a bleak year for Indonesia politically, economically and socially. To make matters worse, living expenses, including telephone rates and the price of oil, went up in January, adding to the people's burden.

Amid such circumstances, however, one of the few bright aspects of Indonesian life is the advancement of women in various areas of society. In addition to a woman president, women are active as political commentators, economists, lawyers, film producers, directors and writers.

People tend to attribute this trend to the inauguration of Megawati in July. Actually, however, social advancement of women had started before her rise to the presidency.

In particular, last year, Dewi Lestari, a 25-year-old pop singer who studied international relations at a prestigious private university, attracted public attention when her novel ``Supernova'' suddenly became a bestseller.

A supernova is the massive explosion of a star that occurs in the final stage of stellar evolution. Some scholars argue that light emission from a supernova can be as bright as a galaxy. When a massive star is unable to support its own weight and explodes, it leaves a neutron star or a black hole, scientists say.

The subject of this novel titled after the astrophysics phenomenon is an extramarital love affair between a wealthy man and woman who hold intellectual jobs in Jakarta. The story is told by a homosexual male couple who studied in and returned from the United States.

Ideas from physics and modern thoughts are scattered throughout the story to describe the feelings of the main characters. The Internet and cyberspace also play an important part in the plot. Through such original means, the writer depicts the contemporary Indonesian society.

The innovative style and subject matter that was unheard of in traditional Indonesian literature, such as narration by a homosexual couple and reference to physical theories, by a woman writer seems to have breathed new life into the chaotic Indonesian situation today.

In a way, even though the government and politicians did hardly anything to improve the people's life in Indonesia in 2001, it may have been a year in which ordinary citizens displayed extraordinary creativity.

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The author is executive director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Indonesia.