Indonesia ? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday relentlessly hammered home the Obama administration’s message that America is under new management and ready to listen and engage the world.

“When the United States is absent, people believe that we are not interested, and that can create a vacuum that destructive forces can fill,” she told a group of journalists after meeting with Indonesia’s leader on the second leg of a weeklong Asia tour. “We don’t want to be absent. We want to be present.”

Earlier, she took to the airwaves, appearing on the most popular youth show in the world’s most populous Muslim nation to deliver her message and bring greetings from President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood here.

“There is so much excitement in the air here,” she told an enthusiastic studio audience on the MTV-style “Dahsyat” show, which translates in English to “Awesome.” She said she had just spoken with Obama who wished them all well, drawing cheers.

Much of her appearance was lighthearted banter about her favorite music — the Beatles and Rolling Stones — and her poor singing abilities, but she also made clear that Washington wants to address Muslim concerns about U.S. policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.