"Governor Lukas Enembe appeals to the people of Papua to pray for his good health and safe arrival in Jayapura," the provincial government's spokesperson, Muhammad Rifai Darus, said here on Thursday.
Enembe, who had been admitted at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital since May 25, 2021, arrived back in Jakarta on July 1, 2021, he informed.
The governor started self-isolation the day he arrived, in compliance with the government's health protocols, he added.
His flight for Jayapura was scheduled on Thursday evening, he continued.
Enembe has urged Papuans to refrain from planning a welcome for him since crowd-pulling activities are prohibited amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Darus said.
Instead, the governor has asked the people to continue to comply with the government's COVID-19 prevention measures to protect themselves and their families from infection, he added.
The governor has also expressed his readiness to return to Papua and resume his services following a full recovery, Darus said.
Enembe was in the media spotlight after Papua New Guinea authorities deported him in early April this year.
As reported by ANTARA earlier, the Papua governor admitted to entering PNG by motorcycle taxi (ojek) for medical treatment.
"I know what I have done is wrong since I crossed and entered the PNG territory through a small path by a motorcycle taxi," Enembe said after taking a COVID-19 antigen test.
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He said he visited Vanimo on March 31, 2021 for medical treatment.
He was deported soon after in the company of Indonesia's consul in Vanimo Allen Simarmata.
PNG Consul General Geoffrey L. Wiri and chief of border affairs and foreign cooperation of the Papua provincial administration, Suzana Wanggai, received him in the neutral zone, from where he headed back to Jayapura.
In June this year, Enembe again caught the attention of local media outlets after he protested the Home Ministry's decision to appoint Papua provincial government secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, as acting governor of the province. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Hendrina DK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
