Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) greeted the public using three phrases from the native Papuan language at the opening ceremony of the XX National Sports Week (PON) on Saturday.
"Huwe foi, onomi rehmay, wa wa wa. Cheers to sports!" he said while delivering his speech at the ceremony, which took place at the Lukas Enembe Stadium, Harapan village, East Sentani sub-district, Jayapura District on Saturday evening local time.
As witnessed by ANTARA, President Widodo's use of the native phrases generated a huge applause from the audience, whose numbers were restricted to 25 percent of the total capacity of the stadium due to COVID-19.
The three phrases are spoken often by people living in the eastern region of Indonesia.
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Coordinator of Papuan Youth Cross-Organizational Forum and the 20th PON Festival, Otniel Deda, told ANTARA here on Saturday that he appreciated and was proud of President Jokowi's greeting.
"I am proud that President Joko Widodo can greet the people in one of our language," he remarked.
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He said his forum hopes that in future more people will be able to understand the distinctive languages of Papua.
Meanwhile, in his speech, the President also expressed his pride for officially inaugurating the PON hosted for the first time by the province.
The first match of the national sporting event took place on September 22. The event will run until October 15, 2021. Currently, the Jakarta contingent stands at the top of the PON medal standings.
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