The Cardinal and Bishop of Penang, Mgr. Sebastian Francis has announced the opening of the cause of beatification for Sybil Kathigasu. She was a Catholic nurse and supporter of the resistance against Japan during the Second World War.
Sybil Medan Daly was born on 3 September 1899, in Medan, Sumatra, then part of the Dutch East Indies. She was the fifth child (only daughter) of Joseph Daly, a florist of Irish origin, and Beatrice Matilda Martin, a midwife of French origin.
After studying midwifery and nursing for three years, Sybil assisted her husband, Dr. Abdon Clement Kathigesu. It was at a clinic in the small town of Papan, Ipoh, Perak. Together, the couple built a successful private practice, also providing free medical care to the poor who could not afford to pay for medical treatment.
But the war was not long in coming with the first bombings on Ipoh in 1941 and the incursion of Japanese troops into the city, known for its tin deposits.
Sybil received a vision in which God told her that she would have to endure many sacrifices in the days to come. But instead of becoming discouraged, the nurse hung a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a strategic place in the house, from where she took note of all outside activity. The Kathigesus supported the resistance by secretly supplying medicine to the Allied forces and sharing information, thanks in part to Sybil’s knowledge of Cantonese, thanks to which she could communicate with the Chinese guerrillas fighting against the Japanese occupation.
She was later arrested along with her husband and underwent horrific torturing by Japan’s Kempeitai military police. But Sybil refused to reveal the information she had. She prayed every night calling on the name of Jesus. She continued her resistance even when she was dragged to see her five-year-old daughter Dawn hanging from a tree with a fire burning beneath her that threatened to burn her alive. But it was Dawn who inspired Sybil not to give in. This was written in her autobiography: “Be very brave, Mom. Don’t talk. When we both die, Jesus will be waiting for us in Heaven,” the little girl told her.
After the war, Sybil was released from Batu Gajah prison on 6 September 1945. She had very serious injuries, including a fractured spine. The first thing she asked for was to be carried on a stretcher to the entrance of St. Joseph’s Church, where she dragged herself down the aisle in thanksgiving. The anti-Japanese army formed by the Malay population also freed her husband and children.
Sybil was taken to London for treatment and wrote her autobiography, “No Dram of Mercy”. In 1947 she was awarded the George Medal by King George VI at Buckingham Palace for her bravery during the Japanese occupation, the only Malay woman to receive the award.
Seven months later, on 12 June 1948, at the age of 49, Sybil died of septicaemia. Her body was buried in Lanark, Scotland, but was later returned to Ipoh and reburied in the Catholic cemetery at St Michael’s Church, Brewster Road the following year.