Sybil Kathigasu

Sybil Kathigasu, née Daly, was born in 1899 in Medan, Sumatra, into a Eurasian family. A trained nurse and midwife, she married A.C. Kathigasu, a Tamil doctor, whom she met while serving at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. The couple ran a clinic in Ipoh from 1926 but moved to Papan in 1941 due to the Japanese invasion. In Papan, they provided medical care to the poor, and quietly treated ill and injured anti-Japanese guerrillas. As a result, they were arrested in 1943, tortured and imprisoned in brutal conditions.

After the war ended in 1945, Sybil Kathigasu was sent to London for treatment of her severe injuries. She was awarded the George Medal for her bravery, but died months later in 1948, aged 49. Initially buried in Scotland, her remains were returned to Ipoh in 1949 and interred in St. Michael’s Church Cemetery. As a tribute to her sacrifice, a road in Ipoh was named Jalan Sybil Kathigasu. In 2016, Google issued a doodie in honour of “her tireless dedication to freedom”.