Born from a Ngalik family of Christian priests in Highland Papua named Simon Payage.
[2][3] His intersection with Islam he got when meeting a Muslim businessman named Haji Baharuddin while he was in school.
Realizing that Papua is not good for education, Payage decided to move to Java.
During the study both in pesantren and in formal schools in Situbondo, Payage is known as a smart student and able to understand Islamic religious education quickly.
[2] Payage is currently the head of Indonesian Ulema Council of Papua branch, a position he achieved at a very young age of 34 years in 2014.