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Malaysian gynaecologist Datuk Dr Ronald McCoy, whose efforts helped an anti-nuclear NGO win the Nobel Peace Prize, has died at the age of 96
Dr McCoy's son, David, confirmed his passing to BFM yesterday, 1 September, but did not disclose the cause of death.
Born in 1930 in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Dr McCoy was among the first batch of students admitted to the University of Malaya (UM) in Singapore when the university was founded in 1949, reported the New Straits Times.
He later specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology, practising at Assunta Hospital before becoming one of the founding members of Pantai Medical Centre. He retired from medicine in 1996.
In 2005, Dr McCoy's global campaign against nuclear weapons began to gain global momentum after two decades of activism.
He conceived the idea of establishing the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) after talks on the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) fell apart.
In October 2017, ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Committee said the prize recognised ICAN "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons".
That same year, ICAN was also credited with leading a campaign that contributed to the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the United Nations (UN).
Dr McCoy's anti-nuclear activism began in Malaysia, where he founded the Malaysian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1987
He later served as co-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War for eight years.
The organisation was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to raise awareness of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war, reported FMT.
In 1995, Dr McCoy joined the Malaysian team that appeared before the International Court of Justice to challenge the legality of the use of nuclear weapons.
In 2018, he criticised US plans to expand its nuclear arsenal, accusing Washington of being "itching" to build up its stockpile.
He also opposed plans to develop nuclear power in Malaysia, citing concerns over costs, radioactive waste, and the risk of serious accidents.
Dr McCoy often linked his anti-nuclear activism to his work as a doctor, saying that the thousands of babies he had delivered deserved to grow up in a world free from nuclear weapons.
