Sybil Kathigasu
Sybil Kathigasu (née Daly) GM (1899-1948) was a Eurasian Malayan nurse who supported the resistance during the Japanese occupation of Malaya. She is the only Malayan woman to be ever awarded with the George Medal for bravery.
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[edit] Background
Sybil Daly was born to an Irish planter and an Indian mother. She was trained as a nurse and midwife and spoke Cantonese fluently. She and her husband, Dr. Abdon Clement Kathigasu, operated a clinic at No 141 Brewster Road (now Jalan Sultan Idris Shah) in Ipoh from 1926 until the Japanese invasion of Malaya.
The family escaped to the nearby town of Papan days before Japanese forces occupied Ipoh. The local Chinese community fondly remembered Dr. AC Kathigasu and gave him a Hakka nickname "You Loy-De".
[edit] Freedom fighter
Residing at No. 74, Main Street in Papan, Kathigasu secretly kept shortwave radio sets and listened to BBC broadcasts. The family quietly supplied medicines, medical services and information to the resistance forces until they were arrested in 1943.
Despite being interrogated and tortured by the Japanese military police, Sybil persisted in her efforts and was thrown in Batu Gajah jail. After Malaya was liberated in August 1945, Kathigasu was flown to Britain for medical treatment. There, she began writing her memoirs.
Sybil received the George Medal for Gallantry several months before her death in June, 1948.
[edit] Family
Sybil Daly and Dr. Abdon Clement Kathigasu MBE (1892-1972) married in 1919. The couple had two daughters and an adopted son:
- William Pillay (b. 1918)
- Olga Kathigasu (b. 1921)
- Dawn Kathigasu (b. 1936)
[edit] Death and memorial
Sybil Kathigasu died on 4 June 1948 in Britain and her body was buried in Lanark, Scotland. Her body was later returned to Ipoh and buried at the Roman Catholic cemetery beside St Michael's Church.
A road in the City of Ipoh was named after Sybil Kathigasu after independence to commemorate her bravery. Today, the shop house at 74, Main Road, Papan, serves as a memorial to Sybil and her efforts.
[edit] Published works
- No Dram of Mercy (Neville Spearman, 1954; reprinted Oxford University Press, 1983 and Prometheus Enterprises, 2006)
- Faces of Courage: A Revealing Historical Appreciation of Colonial Malaya's Legendary Kathigasu Family by Norma Miraflor & Ian Ward (2006, ISBN 9789810551414)
[edit] In popular culture
- Sybil Kathigasu is played by Jacintha Abisheganaden in the TV drama series The Price of Peace.
- Recently,a drama based on her life completed its airing in Malaysia on Astro satellite television as a 10-part miniseries entitled Apa Dosaku? (What Is My Sin?). The role of Sybil Kathigasu was played by Malaysian model and actress Elaine Daly, who also happens to be Sybil's grand-niece.
[edit] References
- "Edith of Malaya". Time. 1948-06-28. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779870,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- Ho, Tak Ming (2000). Doctors Extraordinaire. Perak Academy. pp. 113–115. ISBN 9834055609. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iBdvdR0KhvMC&pg=PA10&dq=%22Sybil+Kathigasu%22&num=100&sig=SFZY8TPOlPcK1X8GuoJAK0sxbo8#PPA10,M1. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- Weekend journey takes bloggers through Perak’s history, The Star, August 29, 2009.
