T

he Saudi government accused Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of lying when he said the former had apologized for and regretted the beheading of an Indonesian migrant worker.

“The [Saudi] ambassador did not express to the Indonesian foreign minister the kingdom’s apology for not informing the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh of Ruyati binti Satubi’s execution. He also did not tell the Indonesian foreign minister that Saudi Arabia was careless in conducting execution [procedures],” the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta said Thursday in a press statement.

“What the Saudi ambassador said was that he would hand over the Indonesian foreign minister’s willingness on the case of Ruyati to the Saudi government and pass the Indonesian foreign minister’s letter on to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.”

Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulrahman Mohamed Amen Al-Khayyat was summoned to the ministry Monday to receive a diplomatic protest from ministry director for Middle Eastern affairs Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro, and again Wednesday to receive Marty’s letter.

In Marty’s latest statement at the State Palace, he said Al-Khayyat apologized for not letting the Indonesian government know of Ruyati’s beheading.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene also earlier made the same statement.

Fifty-four-year-old Ruyati was executed by beheading last Saturday after being found guilty of killing the wife of her Saudi employer, Khairiya binti Hamid Mijlid.

Critics here were quick to lambast President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after his speech Thursday on the “sudden” beheading of Ruyati.

“It’s too late. The beheading was carried out on Saturday, and the speech only came now,” University of Indonesia political communications expert Effendi Ghazali said.

Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah said Yudho-yono’s speech was outdated and a protest letter he said he would send to Saudi King Abdullah was unnecessary.

It took five days for the President to deliver his statement on Indonesia’s position in regard to the execution. The government has never made Al-Khayyat publicly apologize even after a string of cases of the abuse or death of Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, analysts said.

Yudhoyono also did not demand the kingdom admit its fault and apologize to the people of Indonesia, although he accused the latter of breaching international law, critics added.

“Another absurdity was that [Yudhoyono] did not mention [any attempts] to bring home Ruyati’s body,” Effendi said.

Univesity of Indonesia international relations expert Syamsul Hadi said the content of the President’s speech was merely cosmetic.