No Dram of Mercy by Kathigasu

Title: No Dram of Mercy

Author: Sybil Kathigasu

List Price: RM 28

Pages: 201 (148mm X 216mm)

Published in 2024 

by Prometheus Enterprise, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ISBN 983-2197-38-6

New Edition: with book Review from Dr. Wong Soak Koon 

About the Book 

No Dram of Mercy is one woman's memoir of her struggles during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, when she and her doctor husband were arrested for secretly helping resistance fighters. 

    Sybil Kathigasu candidly describes her experiences, from the practicalities of daily life to the constant fear of discovery and her harrowing ordeal at the hands of the Kempetei military police.

   A devout Catholic, she had pledged to write a book about those years if she survived. The result is a vivid account not only of the horrors of the Japanese occupation, but also of one woman's courage and fortitude in the face of cruel and ruthless invaders.   

    Republished after seven decades, No Dram of Mercy is a testament to Sybil's indomitable spirit and devotion to the fight for freedom from oppression. It is also a poignant reminder of the hardships and tribulations endured by an earlier generation of Malayans during World War II.

About the Author

Sybil Kathigasu, née Daly, was born in 1899 in Medan, Sumatra, to a Eurasian family. Trained as a nurse and midwife, she married A.C. Kathigasu, a Tamil doctor, while working at the 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 guerillas. 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 at St. Michael's Church Cemetery. As a tribute to her sacrifice, a street in Ipoh was named Jalan Sybil Kathigasu. In 2016, Google issued a doodle in honour of “her tireless dedication to freedom”.