A former Public Health Minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla MD, died of kidney cancer at the age of 79 on Friday night.
According to a Facebook post by his son, Munjit, Dr. Mongkol, health minister in the government of Prime Minister Surayud Julanont and former public health permanent secretary, had told his family that he would like his funeral to be simple, last only one night and that his remains be donated to the Faculty of Medicine of Siriraj hospital, Mahidol University.
A religious ceremony is scheduled at Wat Pariwas tonight and friends of the family and Dr. Mongkol, who cannot attend, can donate to any hospital as a tribute to the former minister, said his son in the post.
In an earlier Facebook post, Dr. Mongkol said a CT scan revealed that he was suffering from Renal Carcinoma stage 3 and that he was due to consult a urologist.
Dr. Mongkol was instrumental in the fight over drug patents and the replacement of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 30 baht healthcare scheme with free universal healthcare for all Thais.
