Former TV journalist Riz Sunawan dies from ALS, remembered for his efforts to support, inspire others despite disability

SINGAPORE — Ms Nursha Ismail recalled that whenever her friend and former colleague Mohammad Asri Sunawan was out in public, he was often approached by random people.

“He never turned anyone away. He always made time to stop and interact with each and every one who approached him,” Ms Nursha, a broadcast journalist at Berita Mediacorp, said.

She was speaking to TODAY after the news of Asri’s death on Wednesday (Feb 8).

Asri, 45, more publicly known as Riz Sunawan, was a former broadcast journalist with the same TV news channel who in recent years became known for his efforts in raising awareness of the degenerative motor neurone disease, a condition he was diagnosed with in 2018.

The neurological disease is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Patients will progressively become immobilised as muscles that control movements of the body including swallowing, speech and breathing weaken. There is no cure for it.

Asri’s disability did not hold him back from continuing to find ways to contribute to society.

For example, he co-founded the Motor Neurone Disease Association Singapore in March 2021 to provide support for fellow patients and their loved ones.

In December last year, he launched a bilingual book that he co-wrote to raise awareness about the condition and to raise money to defray his medical expenses.

He was a radio presenter-turned-journalist and television newscaster with Berita Mediacorp until 2015.

Describing him as a nurturing mentor who was always eager to share knowledge, Ms Nursha recalled how encouraging and helpful he was when she wrote her first news report.

“He patiently guided me in every aspect of the process — from writing, editing the visuals and packaging the piece. And after the news went on air, he told me to take pride in it, because it was my first byline piece.”

Communications professional and former newscaster Nity Farhana Dolhamid also recalled how Asri was the one who trained her for her role in 2014.

“Riz was there every step of the way to ensure that I was well-prepared right from the first day of training until my debut," she said.

Ms Nity added that Asri’s dedication to his work was only equalled by his passion in helping his fellow colleagues. 

Asri's family members told Berita Mediacorp on Wednesday that he died at 10.46am.

His sister, Ms Linda Sunawan, 33, told the Mediacorp Malay news and current affairs unit that her brother had appeared "weak" for the past week or so, and his condition had been deteriorating.

In an interview with TODAY last December leading up to the book launch, Asri's father, Mr Sunawan Dasuri, 74, described his son as someone who was very passionate about his career and community.

Among his enduring traits was his care towards his family as well as his tenacity, the retired civil servant said.

“Once he sets his sights on something, he perseveres until he sees it through successfully.”

Among others, Asri was a committee member of Bulan Bahasa, the annual national-scale event held by the Malay Language Council, a body that promotes Malay language and the appreciation of Malay culture.

President Halimah Yacob and Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Law, were among political leaders who wrote their tributes for Asri on social media.

President Halimah highlighted his efforts in championing the Malay language and how he was a strong advocate for people with disability, describing his death as “a loss to the community”.

Ms Rahayu said that she and Asri worked together on the Bulan Bahasa committee and he “never let his medical condition limit his ability to contribute”.

Ms Surita Salim, a supervising editor at Berita Mediacorp, described him as “a great colleague to work with”.

“But more than that, we were a family in the newsroom. I'm deeply saddened by his death,” she said. “I've always admired his strength and courage in facing his grave illness.”

Communications professional Ibrahim Sawifi, a former Mediacorp producer and broadcast journalist, described his ex-colleague as someone who always put people at ease when he spoke to them.

"As a journalist, this characteristic helped him to unearth stories, particularly human interest stories, that complement the issues at hand," he said. 

Ms Hidayah Amin, a Singapore author who co-wrote Mr Asri's book — entitled My Name Is Riz. I Have Motor Neurone Disease — told TODAY that she just met him over the weekend.

They were planning to do a book tour for him at libraries and children homes, and he was looking forward to those plans, despite being in low spirits before that.

They last went to East Coast Park on Jan 28, where he met with other members of the Motor Neurone Disease Association Singapore and distributed his books to them.

In his recent interview with TODAY, Asri called the book his “legacy” and “beacon of hope for anyone who is struggling”, which he hoped would encourage others to "live life to the fullest".

On Wednesday, Ms Hidayah said that she was glad Asri managed to see some of the responses to his book.

“After the book launch, many people wrote to him. Some teachers also wrote to me saying that they find the book inspiring and that they wanted to share it with their students.”