By Vanitha Nadaraj
PENANG — Malaysia’s Diocese of Penang is seeking canonization of Sybil Kathigasu, a nurse who endured severe torture for providing medical care, shelter, and intelligence to anti-Japanese forces in the British-ruled Malaya during World War II.
“She lived a life of service in love and compassion for the sick and suffering in the town of Papan in Perak, Malaysia. Her story continues to inspire many people from all walks of life in society till today,” said Cardinal Sebastian Francis of Penang in a notification issued on July 1.
“I hope to advance her cause for beatification and canonization by God’s Grace,” Francis said.
Kathigasu, born to Irish-Indian parents, survived the ordeal and was awarded the George Medal by King George VI for her bravery in 1948, making her the only Malayan woman to receive the honor during World War II.
If canonized, she will be the first saint from Malaysia.
Kathigasu died in 1948 and was buried at the cemetery in the Church of St. Michael in Ipoh, near her clinic-cum-house in Papan.
“Pilgrims continue to visit her grave and her clinic/ house. Catholic parents have baptized their children after Sybil. She is talked about as an exemplary lay Catholic witness,” the cardinal said in the notification.
“In the Christian community – she has inspired Catholics, Anglicans and Christians about living the Gospels.”
The Diocese of Penang has enlisted the help of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur in the initial process of compiling a dossier on her.
An independent movie on her life titled Sybil is slated for screening in mid-2025, according to media reports. The movie will be in multiple languages with Malay as the anchor language.
The movie project is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia, the central government agency for the nation’s film industry.
In 2010, an eight-part TV drama entitled Apa Dosaku? (What is My Sin?) featured Kathigasu’s life and works. Her grandniece, Elaine Daly, played the title role in the drama.
Time magazine in its June 28, 1948, issue referred to Kathigasu as the “Edith of Malaya” after British nurse Edith Cavell.
The British nurse is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during World War I and for helping Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.
Google Malaysia honored Kathigasu on Sept 3, 2016, by dedicating a doodle with the patterned ribbon of the George Medal on her 117th birth anniversary.
About 60 percent of Malaysia’s estimated 34 million people are Muslims, according to official data. Some 10 percent Malaysians are Christians including about 4 percent Catholics.
The majority of Malaysian Christians are concentrated in Sabah and Sarawak states in the eastern part of the country.
