I

offer my condolences and grief to the family of Ruyati binti Satubi, and there will be no one who can replace her.

First, I would like to know why so many maids go to Saudi Arabia if they know the consequences. This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred. Is it the religion that pulls them towards the country? If so, why do they not work in Indonesia? The income may be not as big as in Saudi Arabia, but what is money if you are killed?

Maids in Hong Kong or in Singapore are more stylish, polite and fluent in English, and I think all these employers are also more polite to their workers.

What has happened? Let me say that any murder is punishable. The government is not responsible for the act of individual. The government can only intervene and impose a life sentence instead of death. The government’s payment of Rp 4.7 billion (US$545,200) in blood money sets a bad example that people who kill can buy freedom by paying blood money.

There are currently other Indonesians on death row in Saudi Arabia, and if the government pays for each of them as with Darsem (an Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia), then the treasury department needs more money to be allocated from the state budget, as many citizens will realize that the government will free them if they kill or murder anyone.

The murder or killing of an employer may be done out of deep stress or self-protection or extreme situations, but then again, the very first question arises of why go to these countries?

Every crime has to be punished whether it is small or big. Each country has its own laws. If the government says that the beheading of Ruyati was not right then, they should not give the death penalty to their criminals at home. And those in the “Bali Nine” case should only be given life imprisonment.

If the Saudi Arabian government did not inform the Indonesian government about the case, then that is a separate issue and should be dealt with diplomatically.

Rajesh
Jakarta