Do you know ...
about Sybil Kathigasu?
> Malayan Eurasian nurse Sybil Kathigasu was a World War II heroine who supported the resistance movement during the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
> She and her husband Dr Abdon Clement Kathigasu secretly supplied medicine and medical aid to resistance fighters. She also kept hidden shortwave radio sets and listened to BBC broadcasts.
> They ran a clinic at Brewster Road (now Jalan Sultan Idris Shah) in Ipoh and fled to the nearby town of Papan days before Japanese soldiers occupied the country.
> Sybil, Dr Abdon and their then seven-year-old daughter Dawn were arrested in 1943.
Despite being interrogated and tortured, she never revealed the names of those in the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army.
> After Malaya was liberated in August 1945, Sybil was flown to Britain for medical treatment.
She underwent 10 surgeries but eventually died from acute septicaemia due to a fractured jaw.
> Her grit and defiance were recognised – she is the only Malayan woman to be awarded the George Medal, the second highest British award for civilian courage.
She was awarded the medal a few months before her death on June 12, 1948, at age 48.
> Last year, Google paid homage to the wartime heroine to commemorate the 117th anniversary of her birth.