IN mid-September, from a room on the 33rd floor of the Millennium Plaza Hotel, New York, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) made history. Although he was busy attending a high-level United Nations conference, SBY still found time to preside over cabinet meetings. Via video teleconferencing, he spoke with his ministers in Jakarta, and heard what they had to say.

This was the first long-distance meeting in the history of Indonesian presidents.