NO DRAM NO MERCY
CHAPTER 4 DE-CONSTRUCTING THE TEXT
No Dram of Mercy is somewhat ambiguous because it’s not clear how the manuscript took shape. It doesn’t have an author’s preface, so we don’t know who reviewed her manuscript, who worked with her on it, and who endured neglect while she was writing it. It doesn’t have a foreword by her husband or daughters, whom we know outlived Sybil. It doesn’t have commendations by Malayan leaders of the day. No Dram of Mercy is ambiguous because it doesn’t reveal why she was treated so kindly by the British. Was it because her father was Irish and her brother a soldier who died on the battlefield in Turkey (Gallipoli)? Was it because her recovery and subsequent testimony would help to demonize the Japanese? Was it because her story would inspire others to relieve “the poor and suffering, whatever their race or religion”?
Most who have written about the Kathigasus' emphasize the medical side of the story – their clinics in No. 141 Brewster Road, Ipoh and in No. 74 Main Street, Papan; their ‘chance’ evacuation to Papan; the causes and descriptions of Sybil’s injuries. I think it is more helpful to describe it as a personal account of 3 years of Japanese occupation of Malaya, narrated by a woman who expended her life on behalf of others. I say this because I had to look beyond the book for personal information about the Kathigasu family. It seems likely that Sybil Kathigasu was a rarity because she was well known in Ipoh, she remained alive despite having been found guilty by a Japanese military court, she had sustained injuries which were treatable, though not in Malaya, she was highly commended by the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) which was led by the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), who were at that time allies of the British.
So how true can a written text be? The fact that it lacks authenticity is obvious as Sybil is said to be the one who wrote down her memories at the time when she is already ill. Her memory may deteriorate which eventually brings suspicious whether or not someone who continue publishing her story changes part of the story. As this chapter is to me, the starting point of all the tortures and more stories about the Japanese occupation in Malaya back in the time when this took place. The reason is simple, as I based my understanding on what I read and reconstructing the sentences, but as mentioned earlier different people may emphasis the words differently. Authenticity cannot be detected, or rather be verified, and the best we could get was through our family members who gone through it and have own experience of it in this case, the World War II that can hardly be heard from the mouth of youngsters. Having a bad sense of history, the younger generation today are not just bad in history, but also didn’t bother to know further.
While some people from Malaya back during the days when they were under the Japanese regime wished that the Japs could give them a better life, Sybil has her own thoughts. She first brought her people to a new place called Papan, where all the memories whether the good or the bad started here. When they first fall onto the hand of the Japanese, they did not lose hope by deciding to start a new life over at Papan. As important as mobile phones to us these days, the wireless sets played a very important role keeping the people updated during that time. Sadly, one of the very first thing that the Japanese would emphasis on once their control of the conquered territory has been established was for them to surrender all the wireless sets in hand. They will set a certain date for the people to bring their sets and surrender them to the police station. To ensure that no one kept the wireless sets at home illegally, the police force might make a surprise search of any houses and if any wireless sets were found within the house compound, the owner might be hauled off for summary execution.
Barh, the electrical expert, the only one with the sets who kept them in Papan informed of what was going on in the country at large, brought his set to the police station and surrendered them and obtained an official receipt for it. Sybil feared not and worried about nothing as she left her set back in the house in Ipoh, and her set was presumably in the care of the Japanese who are not residing in the house. They later settled down to go through the burden and pain from the isolation. It was not long before Sybil felt the urge to know what was going on in the world outside. Due to this isolation, she really felt more and more intensely the burning need to know the latest news, and many of the people felt the same too. They managed to maintained their courage in the face of the collapse of all their hopes, and it is very important feelings to keep things calm. By just one reason in which they believed that their conviction that the Japanese triumph was short lived and that their freedom will return to them very soon. As claimed by the Japanese according to Sybil, with the invasion of Australia and India, it was really threatening or even had the tide already returned, bringing back the allied forces in a victorious wave? None of the dare to imagine the torture as the Japanese force are known for their evil torturous actions towards people who refuse to cooperate with them.
After having the electrical supply being restored, Sybil came to a realization that the only possession of a set stood between them and the knowledge was a little too much for her to handle. One evening, she broached on the subject. In fact, the fact that having electricity back to them seemed important, but Sybil who already had something in her mind popped the question just to see her people’s response. Instead, they mentioned about how thankful they are not having to use oil lamps again. It meant a lot, but there was another thing that meant the most, stating that it simply means they will be able to stream on B.B.C. again. The people does not seem excited, probably because of the fear inside them of the huge powerful force of the Japanese who threatened them as this can be seen by the silence she got from the people.
Sybil, known for her bravery and being a heroine as stated by herself in the book, assured the people that it will somehow worth the risk. Their greatest hardship was not able to know what happened to their friends abroad. Sybil kept them calm, stating that this should not stopped them from getting their well-deserved freedom back, relating their situation to a frog beneath the coconut shell, being cut off from the free moving world. It was known that the Japanese did update them with news, but only the news the Japanese wanted the residents in Papan knew about as the news the Japanese only cared about. The truth of the news is unknown, which even Sybil said she cannot distinguish. As mentioned earlier, the subject is misreading of written text and this perhaps, were proven right as they felt they only way to know the actual truth was to have a wireless set with themselves. The reason is simple, as truth means hope to them. After much persuasion, they came to an agreement to obtain a wireless set that should be installed in the house with the purpose of listening to latest news and spreading them to their friends. Doing this, Sybil told the people that they should have to work with the utmost circumspection, and that every person has their own task to play.
Reading this statement, the thing that came across my mind was as a woman, how can Sybil be so daring and suggested this, despite knowing the consequences if caught? What was her relation to the British? Not long after, Sybil started to make inquiries among people that she could trust, and soon learnt about this individual called Mr. Wong, a Chinese neighbor in Papan, could let them keep a set. Sybil herself met Mr. Wong and agreed to take over his set, but refused any payment. However, just like Sybil, the question now was where did the wireless set came from? Does Mr. Wong has secret acquaintance and decided to keep mum since the fall of Malaya onto the hands of the Japanese? Sybil promised to pass the latest news to Mr. Wong but he was to his utmost discretion to spread the news further. Soon after, the set arrived and was brought in through the back door one late night. It was a handsome six-valve G.E.C. model which was forthwith christened “Josephine” for the sake of security. It seemed like everything is very well planned from the very beginning. Josephine was being brought upstairs where there was more privacy and less damp which eventually would proceed her as best as they could.
They first thing that they did was to remove the bulky wooden case, with the number plate, chopped it up and burned it on the kitchen fire. Since they had a pair of earphones, the next thing they do was removing the loudspeakers and concealed it in the garden adjoining the house. These operations made Josephine much less conspicuous and she was safely tucked away in the corner of the room, concealed among sacks and cases of books and provisions. They also took the valves out and hid them in different places every day, replacing them in the set only to enable them to listen to the news. With this, they hoped would lend color to their assertion, and worse comes to worse if she was discovered by the Japanese, that Josephine is a broken set and is now worthless. They put little hope that such an excuse would be accepted but at this point, every possible precaution seemed worth taking.
Being an electrical expert, Barh was put in charge of Josephine. His duties as temporary dispenser were not onerous and it was usually him who tuned in and listened to the news. They heard that B.B.C. news only once a day, considering it unwise to listen more frequently, and thought they passed the news on among their friends and patients whom they felt could be trusted, as they never questioned them the source of information. They were determined that they will be able to keep the secret of Josephine’s existence to as close as possible, and this was made a little easier by the fact that Mr. Ratnam has taken his family to Ipoh. He had now gone back to his previous job, working now under the Japanese and had since handed his house over to Sybil and the people, and making it their responsibility to pay Mr. Ratnam rental. They now employed two Chinese maidservants who stayed in the town and went home at night. There was clearly a danger that if they found out about Josephine, the duo might let their tongues wag.
In the end, Sybil and the people succeeded in arranging things that the duo who worked with them were not upstairs alone, with someone who unobtrusively on duty to ensure that Josephine was not disturbed. Josephine’s loudspeakers and certain spare valves were concealed in a hole in the garden which Barh had laboriously dug and cemented round so that it was clean and fairly dry. The site was carefully chosen but they could never be certain that one of the gardeners might not stumble upon it. Nonetheless, much care and considerations had been put onto just to ensure that Josephine is in safe hands, but what if one of the acquaintance that they trusted backed off and betrayed them? Also, since Barh is an electrical expert, he should be less worried about the spare valves being missing or what so. Barh being the person whose duty was to listen to the news, how often would he missed important news, or even, misinterpret the meaning of it?
Josephine was certainly a big responsibility and a source of serious worry. Her discovery would certainly mean torture and imprisonment for most of them or perhaps even death. On the serious note, misreading of news would bring unwanted fear to them as well which would eventually cause unexpected stir among themselves. But though the news from these early days was far from encouraging, simple to hear the calm voice of the B.B.C. announcer, describe allied successes and reverses without even trying to exaggerate the one or to minimize the other, was indeed a tonic to all of us. It was a constant reminder that they were not alone, and that they world they knew still existed though they were temporary being cut off from them. This knowledge in fact, forfeited their faith in the ultimate victory and truth.