Anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Ronald McCoy dies at 96

 The veteran obstetrician conceived the idea for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr Ronald McCoy often linked his anti-nuclear work to his career as a doctor, saying the thousands of babies he had delivered deserved to grow up in a world without nuclear weapons. (SIEM pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Ronald McCoy, who conceived the idea for a movement that later won the Nobel Peace Prize, has died. He was 96.

Radio station BFM89.9 reported that his son, David McCoy, confirmed his death. Born in Seremban in 1930, Ronald spent much of his life speaking out against nuclear weapons, alongside a long career as an obstetrician and gynaecologist.

He was best known internationally for his role in starting the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

The idea came to him in 2005 after talks on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty failed to make progress.

Ronald suggested that doctors and activists start an international campaign similar to the movement that had successfully pushed for a ban on landmines. “We can call it an International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, with the acronym ICAN,” he wrote.

ICAN was launched two years later and grew into a worldwide movement involving hundreds of groups. It campaigned for a ban on nuclear weapons and played a major role in efforts that led to the adoption of a UN treaty banning them in 2017.

Ronald studied at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur before joining the first batch of medical students at Universiti Malaya in Singapore in 1949. He later specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology, worked at Assunta Hospital and was among the founding members of Pantai Medical Centre. He retired from medical practice in 1996.

His anti-nuclear work began in the 1980s. He founded the Malaysian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1987 and later served for eight years as co-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war.

Ronald was also part of Malaysia’s team at the International Court of Justice in 1995 when it considered whether the use of nuclear weapons was legal. In 2018, he criticised US plans for its nuclear arsenal, accusing Washington of “itching” to build up its nuclear weapons.

He also opposed plans for nuclear power in Malaysia, warning about the cost, radioactive waste and the danger of serious accidents.

Ronald often linked his anti-nuclear work to his career as a doctor, saying the thousands of babies he had delivered deserved to grow up in a world without nuclear weapons. - FMT