Dear readers,
This is a "copy&paste" article of an unsung heroine who helped fought the Japanese in the then Malaya (now Malaysia). This post is more for my Malaysian friends to read. I posted here partly to share it on facebook.
I strongly recommend you go to the links HERE and HERE for more information and watch a video there.
Regards,
Justin Choo
When colours did not matter............
The 'real' Malaysian history would honour people like Sybil Kathigasu
who epitomises racial unity.
June 12, it was exactly 63 years since Sybil Kathigasu, the
freedom fighter, died.
Most Malaysians know little of her. This is mainly because she, along with
many other distinguished non-Malay freedom fighters, have been “buried” and
forgotten by the ruling Umno government.Why this is so is another hotly debated matter.
Recent reproaches by the people on the Umno government’s take on
Malaysian history, which has erased all acknowledgement of non-Malay
freedom fighters, tell of a new awakening in our midst.This brings the focus to Sybil.
Sybil is the only Malaysian woman to have ever received the distinguished
George Medal (GM) for gallantry and bravery. Instituted by the late King George VI,
the GM recognises both civilian gallantry in the face of enemy action and brave deeds.
She wrote a book “No Dram of Mercy”, which gives an insightful account a woman
of great courage who should be held as a beacon and role model to all Malaysians.
In the 1940s, Sybil sacrificed a great deal in the fight for freedom of Malaya.
Born on Sept 3, 1899 in Medan, Indonesia, Sybil Medan Daly was a trained nurse and midwife.Turning point
In 1919 she married Dr Abdon Clement Kathigasu and they were blessed with
two daugthers, Olga and Thavam. Later on, the couple adopted a son, William Pillay.
Sybil and Abdon operated a clinic in Brewster Road, now known as Jalan Sultan
Idris Shah in Ipoh, Perak, for 14 years before the war descended on them.
Sybil’s warmth, readiness to help and her fluency in Cantonese made
her popular with the local Chinese community.
Then came the war and the invasion of Malaya by the Japanese army in 1941.
When the Japanese army occupied Ipoh, Sybil and her family moved away
to Papan, a small town fringing Ipoh. Papan would soon prove to become a
turning point in Sybil’s life.
It was here that Sybil began “consolidating” her commitment to helping the local
community who were members of the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA).
Sybil secretly supplied medicines, medical services and information to the
underground guerilla forces of the Fifth Independent Regiment of MPAJA
freedom fighters who camped in nearby hills and jungles.
She also secretly kept shortwave radio sets and clandestinely listened to BBC
broadcasts to keep in touch with the situation around the world, especially in
Britain and Europe.
Those acts were, at the time, considered criminal and highly
subversive by the military administration of Japan in Malaya.No betrayal
It has been told and retold by many that Sybil and her husband had treated more
than 6,000 guerilla fighters who fought relentlessly for the independence of Malaya.
Eventually Sybil and her husband were caught. The Japanese army arrested them in 1943.
They promised to release Sybil and her husband but on condition that
she revealed the names of the MPAJA forces. But Sybil was adamant and
refused to do so.
In
fact, she is said to have told the Japanese government that she
was “willing to die with my family, than to disclose the 30,000 MPAJA
and family
members who fought for independence of Malaya”.
Sybil was prepared to face the punishment by the Japanese army.
They punished her husband, son and her daughter Thavam, who was then seven years old.
But Sybil, who suffered the anguish of knowing her family’s pain, did
not relent.
She
refused to betray the MPAJA members and their families. Finally, Sybil
was sent to Batu Gajah prison where she was further tortured.Tortured and tormented
According to her memoir, the Japanese army sprayed soap water into her
vagina and forced her to sit for hours on ice cubes and she was not allowed to sleep.
Sybil survived three years of torture and torment under the Japanese army and was only released after Japan lost the war.
Following her release, Sybil was flown to Britain for medical treatment. It was there
that she wrote her now famous memoir, “No Dram of Mercy”.
She went on to write a second book “Face of Courage”, which gave a
revealing insight into her family.
But the three years of incessant torture by the Japanese army took its
toll on Sybil.
Sybil died on June 12, 1948, in Britain, seven months after she was
released from her Batu Gajah prison cell.
Her body was initially buried in Lanark, Scotland, but was later returned to Ipoh
and buried at the Roman Catholic cemetery beside St Michael’s Church.
The older generation who are familiar with the Sybil Kathigasu story recalled how
her remains arrived in Penang from Scotland by ship and transported to her home
in Ipoh’s Brewster Road.
It was one of the largest funeral processions ever seen in Malaysia.Royal-style sendoff
Sybil, the Malayan heroine, was treated in royal style. Some 100,000
people from all over the country turned up to say goodbye.
Even people from as far as Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo and Indonesia
came to pay their respects.
In Ipoh, a road is named after her to commemorate her bravery and Sybil’s
shophouse at 74, Main Road, Papan, is now being presevered by Law Siak Hong,
the president of the Perak Heritage Society.
In 2008, the Actor Studio’s in Kuala Lumpur produced a play and
trained her grand-niece Elaine Daly to play the title role of “Sybil”.
There’s also a Singapore TV drama series titled “The Price of Peace”
about her life.
Sybil’s life is perhaps the best example of unity – an Indian women
who willingly sacrificed her life for MPAJA members who were mostly
Chinese who fought for the independence of Malaya and Malays.
Please friends.......after reading this pass it to everyone so that history of such will always be cherished..........
