(Photo: via Instagram – @rizsunawan)

Asri Sunawan, a former television news presenter for Singapore’s Mediacorp, has died aged 44.

Better known as Riz Sunawan, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the most common type of Motor Neurone Disease (MND), in October 2018, CNA reports. He died on 8 February.

After Mr Asri’s diagnosis, he co-founded the first Motor Neurone Disease Association of Singapore in June 2021 and became its ambassador.

He also released a bilingual book in December, documenting the life of someone living with MND in Singapore.

The book was titled ‘My Name is Riz. I have Motor Neurone Disease’. Its launch was attended by President Halimah Yacob.

She paid tribute to Mr Asri on Facebook, saying he would be “fondly remembered for his efforts in championing the Malay language”.

His sister Linda Sunawan said the family was saddened but at peace with Mr Asri’s death.

“He suffered (but) he was strong and he persevered,” she told Mediacorp’s Berita platform.