Why
this is so is another hotly debated matter.
Recent reproaches by the
people on the 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 of 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, then 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 relased 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..........
