KUALA LUMPUR: One thousand people are petitioning for Sybil Kathigasu to be included in Malaysian history books, on change.org, just two days of the campaign’s launch.
The 1,000 signatures reached at 7.40pm today, seeks to move Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and the ministry to recognise the wartime nurse’s contributions which earned her the George Medal award for courage.
Sybil is also the only Malaysian woman to have received the award.
The petition comes on the heels of an article published by the New Straits Times on Monday which suggested the social media drive.
Petitioners were not limited to Malaysians or those residing here.
Anita Boyne from Brisbane, Australia said, “I grew up hearing about Sybil from my mother. She rightfully belongs in Malaysia's book of historical heroines and champions. A mighty woman indeed!”.
Vain Dhillon from Bury Saint Edmunds, United Kingdom said: “I'm signing because I am proud of the actions taken on by this courageous person. It is about time the nation made an effort to thank the lives sacrificed. Thank you Mrs Karthigasu.”
John Raj from Shah Alam said, “Sybil is an unforgotten hero who needs to be included in Malaya's history. Her contribution to the liberation of this land from the Japanese has to be duly recognised.”
“I'm doing what is right. People without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots,” said one Izwan Firdaus.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan had said that even though the ministry is open to recognising deserving persons in the history textbooks, the ministry needed a formal proposal to seriously consider the suggestion.
Professor Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia who led the call in the NST article on Sept 4, said that he would champion the cause by taking on the bureaucratic leg work.
Sybil was held captive and tortured by Japanese soldiers during World War 2 for aiding resistance soldiers who fought against the occupation of Malaya.
Despite being severely beaten and forced to watch her own daughter being strapped by a rope from a tree and having hot coals poured under her, Sybil refused to speak about what she knew during the campaign against the Japanese.
Time magazine, in 1948, had also referred to her as the “Edith of Malaya” after Edith Cavell, a British nurse who was executed by a firing squad for aiding the escape of Allied soldiers during World War 1.
Sybil and her husband, Dr Abdon Clement Kathigasu, operated a clinic in the small town of Papan, on the outskirts of Ipoh, Perak, where they covertly supplied medicine, and provided medical services and refuge to resistance fighters for years during World War 2 until their capture in 1943.
The couple also surreptitiously shared information gleaned from BBC broadcasts on banned shortwave radio sets.
Sybil died in London from injuries she sustained during the time of her captivity.
Last year, Google dedicated a doodle to her on her 117th birthday.
To sign the petition log onto: http://bit.ly/2eG31Hc