Lily Eberwein: Her life and involvement in the Anti-Cession Movement in Sarawak

Welyne J. Jehom

Introduction

This chapter examines the political involvement of Lily Eberwein (1900-1980) in what is referred to as the Anti-Cession movement in Sarawak, now a part of Malaysia. This littleknown nationalist movement in the 1940s attempted to retain the “independence” of Sarawak from takeover by Britain. Although it failed to achieve its objective, it did serve to politicize many local people, including women.

Although Eurasian by birth, Lily Eberwein identified with the Malay community in the multi-ethnic society of Sarawak and was active as an educationalist and a political leader. She was a pioneer in a number of ways, being the first “Malay” woman offered a job as a telephone operator at the government department in 1927, and then the first “Malay” woman principal of Permaisuri Girls School, the first Malay girls’ school in Sarawak founded in 1930. During the Japanese occupation in Sarawak, the Japanese appointed Lily as the leader of the Malay section of the Kaum Ibu, a multiethnic women’s association (Reece 1982: 145-6). In March 1947, she was elected as the chairperson of the women’s wing of the Malay National Union of Sarawak, a leading group in the Anti-Cession Movement (Reece 1982: 274). Lily resigned from her post as the principal of Permaisuri Girls School in 1947 as a sign of protest against the Cession but she continued her role as an educationalist by establishing new schools.

From a theoretical point of view, the Anti-Cession movement is a strange nationalist phenomenon because it was supporting the continuation of the rule of the so-called ‘White Rajahs’ of Sarawak. Sarawak was traditionally under the suzerainty of Brunei Sultan who ruled through Malay chiefs. Since 1841 the British Brooke family took over and three generations of Brookes managed to maintain their control over this remote and neglected part of Borneo and generate goodwill and support among the local population. As in other parts of Southeast Asia, however, the Japanese occupation in World War II swept away the old regime and after the war Britain negotiated with the reigning Brooke Rajah to ‘cede’ Sarawak to the British empire, adding it to their other colonies in the region. Politicized by their experience of Japanese rule, local leaders opposed the Cession, wishing to keep Sarawak independent of the British Empire. Although it may seem odd to label as nationalist a movement that supported one form of British rule, that of the Brookes, against another, the British empire, it is understandable from the point of view of local Malay elites who identified the Brookes with their long-standing political domination in Sarawak, and from the point of view of the Anti-Cession movement’s vision of a new future for their independent nation.

Focussing on Lily Eberwein helps to draw attention to the involvement of women in the Anti-Cession movement, a matter that has largely been neglected in historical works, although women’s participation has been mentioned by Sabihah ${ }^{1}$, Hasbie ${ }^{2}$, Sanib ${ }^{3}$ and Reece ${ }^{4}$. Nordi, who wrote about the participation and the role of women in Sarawak politics between 1946 and 1996 discussed briefly their early political engagement in the AntiCession movement in 1946. ${ }^{5}$ This paper is based on very limited archival sources and an

interview with Lily’s daughter who was a former Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport of Sarawak, Datuk Sri Hajjah Hafsah Harun. ${ }^{6}$

Historical Background

Sarawak is located on the island of Borneo, separated from West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) by the South China Sea. It is one of the two states that make up East Malaysia since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Among the more than 40 ethnic groups in Sarawak, the major ones were (and still are) the Iban, Chinese and Malay, followed by Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu, and other indigenous groups. Terminology is loose: the Iban and Bidayuh were often referred to as Dayaks. Table 1 gives the statistics for these ethnic groups in 1947. The category ‘Other indigenous’ includes groups such as Kayan, Kenyah, Penan, Kelabit, Bisaya, Kajang, and Sembop, while the category ‘Others’ includes Indians.

Table 1: Sarawak population by ethnic group, $1947^{7}$

The Malays in Sarawak were divided into the aristocratic elite (perabangan) and commoners who were mainly fishermen, petty traders involved in riverine trade with the indigenous people of the interior, or farmers growing rice, coconut and rubber. ${ }^{8}$ The indigenous groups practiced shifting cultivation, planted sago, or lived by fishing. ${ }^{9}$ Chinese cultivation concentrated on smallholdings of cash crops such as rubber and pepper. ${ }^{10}$

Although Malays were a non-indigenous minority, they dominated the area politically. Sarawak was ruled by the Malay Brunei sultanate until the arrival and involvement of James Brooke in the so-called “Sarawak affair” in 1839, when Sarawak was in rebellion against the central power. James Brooke assisted the Sultan’s representative and brought peace to the area, for which he was rewarded in 1841 with the title of Rajah of Sarawak. According to Sanib, “James Brooke and the ‘dynasty’ which he founded in Sarawak, seen in a larger context of the Malay world, was just another of those Malay kingdoms that mark the history of the archipelago”. ${ }^{11}$ However, Bob Reece has argued that the Brooke Raj should also be seen as part of the development of European imperialism in Island South-East Asia,

rendering ambiguous later objections to the takeover of Sarawak by the British colonial office. However, the Brooke Raj depended on the Malay aristocratic elite to rule Sarawak. In a country where immigrant Malays had been accustomed to rule, apparently there was little objection to having another kind of foreigner as Rajah. Under the Brookes, members of the traditional Malay elite were recruited to hold highly respected posts in the civil service where they gained administrative experience, subordinate only to the Brookes and their European officers. ${ }^{12}$

The last White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke, took up his post in 1917 and was forced out of power by the Japanese during the Second World War. After the war he decided that the best future for Sarawak was to become a British Crown Colony and, so on the $6^{\text {th }}$ February 1946, the Colonial Secretary announced in the British Parliament that Rajah Vyner Brooke had decided to cede his country to the British Crown. The decision to cede ${ }^{13}$ Sarawak to the British Crown was made without consulting the Rajah Muda (Prince) Anthony Brooke ${ }^{14}$, who expected to become the White Rajah after his uncle, Vyner Brooke. According to Reece, “It may have been that his nephew’s (Anthony) inflexibility in negotiations with the Colonial Office finally persuaded the Rajah that he should not succeed him and that Sarawak should instead become the colony of the Crown”.

During the 1930s, officials of the Colonial Office had toyed with the idea of taking over of the Sarawak government from the Brooke Regime and considered potential economic opportunities opened up by such move. At the end of Second World War, access to rubber and oil in Sarawak acquired a greater priority in view of the impending independence to be granted to India and Burma. ${ }^{15}$ The British arranged with Rajah Brooke for Sarawak to become a crown colony on the $1^{\text {st }}$ July 1946 ${ }^{16}$. Sarawak was to remain under British administration until it joined the Malayan Peninsula with Sabah to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. The loss of their independence in 1946 was resisted by elements within Sarawak, in what was called the Anti-Cession Movement. This movement indicated the politicization of important sections of the population in the previous decade.

The Anti-Cession Movement

Until late 1930s, state politics in Sarawak were confined to the Brooke family and the seventy or eighty Europeans in the Sarawak Service. ${ }^{17}$. Traditional Malay and a handful of Chinese elites monopolized the representation of native and Chinese interests. Then Malays and Chinese began forming communal organizations that threatened to bypass the traditional leadership. The Ibans also began to assert themselves by establishing a communally based co-operative aimed at competing with Chinese traders.

The catalyst for this social change was education. Christian churches had established mission schools, and the Chinese had also set up schools privately. Elite Malays had the opportunity to be prepared for clerical government posts in the National College, which was founded by the government in 1919.18 Government provision for Iban education was negligible. However, in early 1930s there was considerable expansion of education opportunities in the capital city, Kuching. ${ }^{19}$

While schooling was spreading for all communities, particularly in the larger towns, employment opportunities were not. The Native Officer Service remained the monopoly of the perabangan in spite of the growing number of educated Malays and Ibans who were much better qualified. It was not until 1941 that the government appointed the first Malay

Native Officer who was not an aristocrat. By 1941, there was a substantial number of young educated people of all races whose expectations could neither be satisfied by the Brooke government nor the traditional Malay and Chinese leadership. ${ }^{20}$

Fajar Sarawak ${ }^{21}$ was the first Malay-language newspaper founded in 1930 by a small group of educated Malays of non-aristocratic origin. It showed the first stirrings of Malay political awareness: it was very critical of the perabangan, describing them as being more concerned with their wealth than with helping poor Malays, and also hinted that the perabangan were doing very little to justify the position of prestige and authority which they had traditionally enjoyed. However, the paper disappeared after a few months, due to lack of support and to active opposition by the perabangan. ${ }^{22}$

Haji Abdul Rahman pursued the idea of a pan-Malay organization, which had been suggested by the founder of Fajar Sarawak, Rakawi Yusoff. Thus 1939 saw the formation of Persatuan Melayu Sarawak (Sarawak Malay Union), which was renamed as Persatuan Melayu Kebangsaan Sarawak (Malay National Union, MNU) after the Second World War (Reece 1982: 160). Amongst its many objectives were: to unite the Malays and work together for their advancement; to promote business, education, culture and the Malay language; and to protect the Islamic faith. ${ }^{23}$ However, the most significant objective that showed dissatisfaction with the traditional form of representation through the perabangan was that MNU aimed to liaise between the Malays and the government. ${ }^{24}$ Through MNU, younger Malays sensed that to improve in their social and economic condition, they would have to bypass the perabangan.

Before the Japanese invasion, then, there were already manifestations of discontent among the newly educated generation vis-a-vis the traditional leadership. The Japanese regime broke the myth of European political and cultural supremacy. At that time, the Iban were for the first time given the opportunity to participate in government administration by the Japanese. While the Japanese Occupation did not provide opportunities for political activity, it did inspire people in Sarawak with the self-confidence to adopt a political stance and to organize what amounted to political parties. By the end of the war, therefore, all the main ethnic groups in Sarawak had become politicized. ${ }^{25}$ Subsequently, the MNU, the China Distress Relief Fund committees, and the Dayaks Cooperative Society became the precursors of post-war political parties, two of which in response to the Cession controversy in early 1946.

During the Second World War, the Malay National Union (MNU) and the educated Malays were not favoured by the Japanese who followed the Brooke style of governing the masses through the traditional elite. ${ }^{26}$ Nevertheless, networks among MNU members were maintained and their branches were revived after the Second World War, serving the cause of Anti-Cessionists in mobilizing mass support within the Malay community. ${ }^{27}$

Following the announcement on 6 February 1946 by the Rajah that the British Crown had consented to taking over Sarawak, Malay National Union and the Sarawak Dayak Association (SDA) emerged as Sarawak’s first political parties. For many months, SDA leaders could not come to a clear stand on Cession among them. Both the MNU and SDA were apprehensive of Chinese domination. There were obstacles before MNU and SDA could cooperate due to suspicion that the former were simply using the latter to meet their own ends: this suspicion was fuelled by the patronizing attitude to indigenous Sarawakians amongst the MNU conservatives. However, agreement on co-operation was achieved finally

as the Ibans were convinced by the close personal friendship between Robert Jitam and Mohd. Nor, and by Suhaily bin Matlayeir who knew most of the Ibans in Kuching and spoke their language. ${ }^{28}$ However, from July until October 1946, MNU faced internal conflict between the conservatives and younger activists. The latter were mostly English-educated Malays of non-aristocratic origin who found they had more in common politically with Robert Jitam of SDA. MNU members wished to see a restoration of the Rajah, but not necessarily for the same reasons. For the traditional elite, restoration of the Brookes meant a return to the status quo ante in which they had occupied positions of power and prestige. ${ }^{29}$ The motivation of the younger Malays in MNU was more complex because while some just wanted the restoration of Brooke rule, others wanted self-government as promised in the 1941 Constitution which the Rajah had introduced just before the Japanese Occupation. ${ }^{30}$

After the war, the Rajah made plans to return to Sarawak in March 1946 to revive the 1941 Constitution. In order to show that he was ceding the territory to Britain in a proper constitutional manner the Rajah called a meeting of the Council Negri (Council of State) which was held from 15 to 17 May 1946, solely for the purpose of passing the cession bill. Although ten out of the 16 Malay members voted against the bill, most European members (seven out of ten) voted in favour, passing the cession bill by 18 votes to 16 on a show of hands. ${ }^{31}$ In a cable sent to Prime Minister Attlee, the Malay leaders Datu Patinggi and Abang Haji Zaini stated that cession did not have the lawful assent of the representatives of the indigenous people and that five of the native members who had voted for cession were ‘under monetary influence’. ${ }^{32}$

The Anti-Cession campaign took the form of expressions of loyalty to Bertram and Anthony Brooke, the Rajah’s brother and nephew respectively ${ }^{33}$. Datu Patinggi invited Bertram and his son Anthony, who was regarded as the Rajah’s successor, to return to Sarawak to initiate fresh discussions on the question of cession. In his letter opposing cession Datu Patinggi included a memorandum from MNU leaders and village heads, dated 12 March, pleading that if the Rajah felt unable to continue taking charge of the government, he should hand over to Anthony Brooke. ${ }^{34}$ The Anti-Cession movement, spearheaded by the MNU, was under way.

After the announcement of cession, there were mixed feelings amongst the Chinese in Sarawak. Some Chinese assumed that Sarawak would form part of the Malayan Union and that the Sarawak Chinese would enjoy the rights of Malayan Union citizenship. Others mentioned that “all we want is to have our status raised so that we can enjoy equal rights with the natives”, while some, although concerned that cession might bring an increase in taxation, looked forward to the development which they anticipated colonial status would bring about. Mission-educated Chinese who had a stake in economic development and modernization but appreciated many of the features of personal rule were uncertain whether the new government would be able to exercise the same control over some of the Ibans of the interior, whose recent head-hunting exploits were well known. Amongst the Ibans, only those who were mission-educated were aware of the cession. The other Ibans and most of the up-river people continued to think for some time that the Rajah was still in authority ${ }^{35}$.

The differing perceptions and reactions of the many ethnic groups in Sarawak determined the amount of support and participation in the anti-cession movement. However, published accounts of the Anti-Cession Movement give scant attention to women’s role in it. The

remainder of this chapter focuses on the life of Lily Eberwein. The other important issue that is of interest here is whether those women thought of their action as political and that they were nationalists.

Locating Malay women in the Anti-Cession movement

Among the Malays educated before the Second World War were women who had access to the first Malay girl’s school, Sekolah Permaisuri, which did not open until 1930. Up until that time, limited modern education was only accessible to aristocratic Malay girls. ${ }^{36}$ Although the kind of education available to Malay girls before the Second World War was intended merely to improve their feminine skills, nonetheless a few of these Malay women excelled in their studies and pursued teaching careers. A student of Lily Eberwein, Ajibah Abol, who studied at Sekolah Permaisuri later pursued a teaching career in the same school. Malay women were not visible in career advancement until after the 1950s. ${ }^{37}$

The Japanese occupation gave women in Sarawak their first taste of being in associations and working together. Ethnic-based associations were encouraged during the Japanese occupation between 1941 and 1945.38 These associations were responsible for organizing demonstrations of loyalty and cultural events to celebrate the Japanese emperor’s birthday and war heroes. The Japanese also sponsored the setting up of a women’s association known as Kaum Ibu (Women’s Group) which included representatives of the four major ethnic groups. Its leaders were Lily Eberwein, the headmistress of Permaisuri Girls School, for the Malay section; Mary Ong, the daughter of Ong Tiang Swee, a trained nursing sister, for the Chinese; Barbara Bay (Bayang) of the Dayaks Cooperative Association (Syarikat Kerjasama Dayak) from the Ibans; and Mrs. Gopal, the wife of an Indian doctor to represent the Indians. Their tasks in Kaum Ibu were to collect unused and recyclable metal and to organize fairs to raise funds for Japanese soldiers. Kaum Ibu was also responsible for organizing singing and dancing for such events. Apart from that, Kaum Ibu was responsible for encouraging women to grow tapioca as a substitute for rice that was in short supply. ${ }^{39}$

These women from the four ethnic groups were given an opportunity to create networks in carrying out the tasks given to them by the Japanese. Furthermore, their involvement in the association indirectly gave them self-confidence and some encouragement to become interested in politics even if they did not know the meaning of politics and being political. With this experience behind them, some of the women, and for our case here, Lily Eberwein, took a further step to become politically active in the Anti-Cession movement in 1946.

The life of Lily Eberwein Abdullah

Lily Eberwein Abdullah was born in 1900, and passed away in 1980. Her father, John Eberwein, a Eurasian of Dutch and Scottish descent from Cocos Island, was a relative of the Clooney Ross family, rulers of that island. He worked with the Straits Steamship Company as the captain of the “Rajah Brooke”. Like many other European businessmen, Lily’s father looked for a local female partner when he was in Sarawak. The difference between John Eberwein and the others was that while they took local women as mistresses, he married a local Malay woman, Maznah bte. Ali bin Alang of Simanggang and eventually brought her to live in Singapore where they had two children, Lily and Edward. Although they lived a Christian way of life there, Maznah continued to practice as a Muslim. Both Lily and her brother Edward had a Christian upbringing.

Lily had her early education at St. Mary’s Mission School in Kuching, Sarawak until she was 8 years old and continued her study at Raffles Girls’ School in Singapore. When her father died suddenly, however, Lily returned to Kuching with her mother and continued her study until Standard Seven (equivalent to Form Three, age 15) at St. Mary’s Mission School. ${ }^{40}$

When Eberwein died and the family went back to Kuching, their lifestyle changed completely. Lily had to adjust to a Muslim Malay upbringing, denoted by the addition of Abdullah to her name. In an interview, her daughter, Hafsah Harun, explained that her mother’s upbringing was different from that of other Malay girls. Having had a European lifestyle in Singapore, when she returned to Kuching she missed her previous freedom and found it difficult to start covering her head and be confined to the house. She had been accustomed to having male servants to serve her when her father was still alive in Singapore, but back in Kuching she had to serve her uncles. Furthermore, being an educated woman she was very outspoken and independent.

Lily converted to Islam in 1913 when she was just 13 years old. She took her time in making this decision, wishing first to learn about the religion. According to Hafsah, her friends in Singapore sent her papers and books to read on Islam, and she also learnt from her immediate family members. Apparently, her knowledge about her new religion impressed her neighbours, to the extent that many people in the village sent their sons to Lily to learn to read the Quran. This gesture showed that the people in the village trusted her and respected her highly because at that time and in that setting, women were rarely consulted for religious teaching. She had become accepted, and identified herself, as a Muslim Malay, terms which were seen as inseparable. Hafsah explained that acceptance by people in the village was not really an issue because she was related to about half of them.

In 1927 the Director of the telephone company, a Mr Tate, recruited Lily Eberwein to work as a telephone operator, making her the first Malay woman to work in a Government Department. She had an excellent command of both Malay and English, as was required of a telephone operator, and her father had been a family friend of Mr. Tate’s. In 1929 she resigned from this post when the Brooke Government appointed her as the Principal of the Permaisuri Malay Girls’ School, which was opened in Kuching in 1930. Through her educational activities, both religious and secular, she became known as Cikgu (teacher) Lily.

Noticeably, she was over the age for marriage at that time. She was a single woman until 1938 when she married and proceeded to have three daughters, with the first, Hasnah, being born in 1940. Her husband, Harun bin Haris, was ten years her junior, with only five years of primary education, and worked in the Sarawak Police Constabulary. Hafsah recalled that her father was very supportive of her mother’s involvement in the AntiCession movement and her passion for education. He respected her as a woman and as a wife. In Sarawak at that time, being married at a later age and having a much younger husband would definitely have been controversial. However, Lily seemed to be able to take it all in her stride. She was highly respected, especially among Malay people because of her dedication to educating Malay girls.

Lily Eberwein as a nationalist woman leader in the Anti-Cession Movement

Lily Eberwein’s first step into the overtly political arena came when the women’s wing of the Malay National Union, Kaum Ibu MNU, was established on 16 March 1947. Lily was elected the organisation’s chairperson at its inaugural meeting of more than 1,000 Malay

women members. Reece later commented, “In pre-war times, Malay women never appeared in public without covering their heads and it must have seemed an extraordinary development that they should now be speaking on a platform and taking part in politics”. ${ }^{41}$ Nonetheless, that platform was not new to Lily as she had led a public life for many years. An editor of Sarawak Tribune describing the meeting as ‘History in the Making’, was struck by the range of topics addressed by these speakers, which included Malay nationalist movements, Sarawak history, the backwardness of women in Sarawak and their demand for rights. The editor reflected,

What a far cry the women of today are from their grandmothers. … There is no trace of bashfulness that so characterized a woman in the old days when making a public appearance, and the woman of today stands out on just as firm and equal a ground as that of any man, in full realization of the part they have to play in the country. ${ }^{42}$

Reece stated that “like the younger group within the MNU, the leadership of the Kaum Ibu represented a movement towards social change.” ${ }^{43}$

Lily Eberwein appeared an obvious choice to be elected as the first chairperson of Kaum Ibu MNU. She was well educated and had leadership experience in a women’s organization established by the Japanese during the occupation. She also had full support from her husband and her family. ${ }^{44}$ According to Reece, the younger members of the MNUKaum Ibu formed a political committee, gave instruction in public speaking and attempted to widen the intellectual horizons of members. ${ }^{45}$, and Lily, through Kaum Ibu was part of that activities. The house of Lily was used as a base for the activities of the movement, in particular the Kaum Ibu; and she was personally shouldering the costs and time required for this (Nordi p. 102).

As can be seen from the earlier description of political events in Sarawak, this was a highly charged period when the British government faced opposition to cession within Sarawak. The Colonial Government in Sarawak attempted to curb the activities of the local anticessionists by issuing an instruction (Circular No. 9) prohibiting all civil servants to get involved in any way or be liable to instant dismissal from their post. Those who could not comply needed to inform their respective head of department by 31 December 1946. The anti-cessionists refused to acknowledge Circular No. 9, and organized campaigns in Kuching and Sibu to obtain as many signatures as possible to protest against the circular. About 400 government servants, of whom three were non-Malays, were served three months’ notice till $1^{\text {st }}$ April 1947 to quit when they made known their inability to comply with the circular to their superior (Reece 1982: 270). Most of them were Malay schoolteachers, thus causing the closure of one-third of all government Malay schools. ${ }^{46}$ On that day, all the 56 teacher trainees of the Sarawak Malay Teachers Training College quitted their studies in protest against the circular, and 500 other Malays working in schools and non-government occupations also took leave to manifest their displeasure on the same. ${ }^{47}$

Lily Eberwein as the headmistress of the Permaisuri Malay Girls’ School and her teaching colleague Ajibah Abol were amongst the Malay schoolteachers who resigned. Ajibah Abol became Lily’s secretary in the Kaum Ibu MNU headed by her. Lily’s husband, who was a Corporal in the Sarawak Constabulary resigned soon afterwards. In this case, Lily’s resignation was her own decision and not governed by her husband’s influence. According to Reece, for those who resigned, it was a momentous personal decision as well as an act of political commitment because there was very little prospect of obtaining employment

outside government service. From the list, among the 400 who resigned, there were only nine women (reference? This one I counted myself, and also in the list stated their position in the govt dept, so no reference) who were all Malay schoolteachers.

As the anti-cession struggle continued, the closure of these Malay government schools became a serious concern as affected students could not find places in other Malay schools. Four schools in Kuching and another in Sibu were established by those teachers who resigned. In order to assist children of resigned public servants who boycotted government schools, Lily helped to establish a religious school for girls and women (sekolah rakyat) in the premise of the Masjid Bintangor Haji Taha Building ${ }^{48}$. Lily and teachers who resigned in protest against the circular taught in these schools without pay. ${ }^{49}$ Hence Lily’s actions appeared to be balancing two parallel concerns: fighting for Sarawak’s political destiny as a nationalist and the provision of education for Malay women to effect social change as an educationalist.

In an interview by The Straits Times Singapore dated 21 July 194750 on the Anti-Cession movement, Lily Eberwein expressed her concern for its impact on Malay education. In the article entitled “Education Standstill”, Lily stated that the protest against cession had had the most serious effect on education, which was virtually at a standstill. She emphasized that the position of education in Sarawak must remain a matter of gravest public concern “for as long as this unhappy controversy lasts”, referring to cession. She also stated, “We Malays, in conjunction with the other indigenous races, will fight with unwavering purpose for the redress of the wrong that has been done to our people in the extinction of our nationhood and independence”. In the article she clearly identified herself as a member of the Malay community and with the cause of Sarawak’s national independence, but also expresses her concern about the effects of the nationalist struggle on education and thus on the people of Sarawak.

In his memoirs, Anthony Brooke clearly recognized the importance of the women’s role in the Anti-Cession movement. He specifically highlighted Lily Eberwein’s effort, stating that "a new impetus was given to the movement due to the initiative of Chegu (head teacher) Lily Eberwein, who formed a women’s branch of the movement. This met with considerable support from women of all ages from throughout the country…"51

MNU sent a group of representatives to meet Anthony Brooke in Singapore in February 1947.52 The Kaum Ibu organized events in petitioning the colonial government and taking part in demonstrations ${ }^{53}$. They also sent a three-member-delegation including Lily to Singapore in July 1947 in anticipation of the arrival of Kathleen Brooke (the wife of Anthony Brooke) at Singapore (“Welcome for Mrs Brooke Planned”, Singapore Straits Times, 11 July, 1947), who proceeded to Sarawak in August 1947 for a tour of the state. ${ }^{54}$ Representing her husband who was banned by the British from entering Sarawak, Kathleen Brooke was a force for support of the anti-cession movement. She was accompanied by Lily Eberwein as well as by male members of the MNU. The Kaum Ibu groups that had sprung up around the state since 1946 received Kathleen Brooke’s tour group with enthusiasm. ${ }^{55}$

Together with Kathleen Brooke, Lily and other male and female leaders carried out an arduous rural anti-cession campaign on foot and by boat, travelling to remote longhouses to explain to the longhouse chiefs and get their thumbprints as affirming their opposition to Cession. They also sold photos of Anthony Brooke and Sarawak flags to the villages to collect funds (Sanib 1985: 49-50). The rural campaign managed to gain the support of 52

Iban penghulu which included the Paramount Chief, Temenggong Koh and Penghulu Juga (Sanib 1985: 49-50). However, the British administration managed to use their influence to get them to withdraw their anti-cession stand, including the latter two (Sanib 1985: 54). ${ }^{56}$ Nevertheless, as Reece rightly pointed out,

Lily and her Malay companions demonstrated exceptional courage in the face of the colonial government’s thinly concealed antagonism and the physical trials which such an extensive tour demand… and in her own right, Lily was a source of inspiration [especially amongst the Malay women] for the anti-cession movement, and anxiety for the government. ${ }^{57}$

Based on Hafsah Harun’s recollections of her mother’s activities during the anti-cession campaign, Lily to a certain extent had to sacrifice her time with her young children. Malay women in Sarawak at that time was groomed to be "famous for their skill in weaving sarongs, knitting…"58 and they were expected to stay home taking care of the children. Malay women’s activities were all confined to the domestic domain. The Anti-Cession movement was an exceptional event for Lily and the other Malay women at that time because they joined in the campaign along with their male counterparts, participating in demonstrations and petitioning the colonial government, and Malay women had their own section in Kaum Ibu even though it was under the male-dominated MNU. Significantly, Hafsah Harun did mention that occasionally, after their meetings, Lily complained about her male colleagues, indicating that it was not always easy for her to deal with them.

It is difficult to determine the source of the commitment of the Malay women in general and Lily Eberwein in particular to the anti-cession movement, because of the speed of events. Kaum Ibu was created in March 1947 and within a few months women were rallied and campaigning against cession. Although the meeting with Kathleen Brooke in Singapore and her six months visit to Sarawak till February 194859 may have spurred on the Malay women of Sarawak, by that time Kaum Ibu had already been established with more than 1000 Malay women members at the inaugural meeting.

Even for Lily Eberwein, who had more exposure to the outside world than most other Malay women in Sarawak, political activity was not something she had dreamed of according to her daughter, Hafsah Harun. However, she was accompanied to meetings by Ajibah Abol, and the two of them made a good team. From the photographs of these meetings it is clear that neither woman was veiled, and they dressed plainly in traditional Malay costume of a blouse over a long skirt (baju kurung). (they don’t wear veil, just a long shawl to cover the head but exposed the neck area, but in the meetings, they have their shawl on the shoulder)

Whether or not Lily saw herself as a political activist, she was committed to social change through education for Malay girls, as was shown by her lifelong leadership in teaching.

Lily’s legacy

After the failure of the Anti-Cession movement, Lily Eberwein turned her attention mainly to education. In 1950 she established the Satok English School (SES). According to her daughter, Hafsah Harun, she started the school because she realized the importance of the English language at that time as the medium of communication especially in the government service. SES was a stepping-stone for students to pursue their studies in government schools.

The school never received or accepted any funds from the government, and this showed Lily’s true dedication to the school. According to Hafsah Harun, Lily’s daughter, there were six classes up to Form Two, having two sessions with five or six teachers, and the school survived solely on the sale of handicrafts and collection of funds from former students The students were taught not just the normal curriculum but to be disciplined and determined. The school was multi-ethnic, taking Malay, Iban, Bidayuh, Chinese and Indian students. Although mainly for girls, the school also admitted a few boys from the boys’ home, who were sent to SES because they were too old to enter public schools. The troublesome students from the boys’ home were made to feel important and gradually they became wellbehaved.

Although Lily Eberwein was a very active anti-cessionist, she never joined any political parties. Nevertheless she was the first woman to be appointed as a Councillor of Kuching Municipal Council in 1950 - another occasion on which she was a pioneer for women in public life in Sarawak. She participated actively in various voluntary organizations such as the Prisoners’ Aid Society, Anti-Tuberculosis Association Sarawak (ATAS), and the Red Cross. She remained the Chairman of Kaum Ibu in the Malay National Union of Sarawak until 1960 when she also retired from her own school, Satok English School. Occasionally after that she assisted her daughter Hafsah Harun who replaced her as the school Principal.

In recognition of her services, she was given two Sarawak state awards after the Malaysian federation was formed, and was named an exemplary teacher of Malaysia in 1977. After being a diabetic for twenty years, Cikgu Lily Eberwein died in 1980.

Although Lily was heavily involved in the Anti-Cession movement, her daughter Hafsah Harun claimed that from what she understood, her mother did not see herself as a politician, and was probably unaware of being a nationalist leader: she just saw herself as a protester against the cession of Sarawak to British colonialism. According to Hafsah, Lily saw her role in the Malay National Union of Sarawak as participating in a non-government organization, not a political movement. Evidence of her unwillingness to belong to a political party is also seen in her later life. As Hafsah said, “When Sarawak joined Malaysia, she (Lily) did not get involved in any political parties.” Hafsah went on to point out that Lily’s colleague Ajibah Abol “was one of her former students who were active in politics but it was easier for her because she was single”, although she admitted that if a woman were single she could be subjected to gossip.

In Sarawak there is still only a limited place for women in the public sphere, especially in politics. Although Lily herself did not participate in public political life after the Anti-Cession movement ended, nonetheless she inspired the few women politicians Sarawak had soon after it joined in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Ajibah Abol, Lily’s former student and colleague whom she appointed as her secretary in Kaum Ibu MNU, became the first woman to win a seat in the state parliament in 1970 and again in 1974. She was appointed the Minister of Welfare and Culture for Sarawak but died in 1976 after a short illness. The second woman who entered the Sarawak political scene was Hafsah Harun, the daughter of Lily Eberwein. In the 1976 election Hafsah Harun took over the seat left empty by the death of Ajibah Abol. Subsequently, in 1981 she was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport. Her last position as a minister was in the Ministry of Social development of Sarawak before she retired as a politician in 1987.

Hafsah Harun has fond memories of her upbringing, and regarded her mother as an exceptional woman. She stated that her mother instilled exceptional qualities in her and her sisters, which were to be independent, outspoken, and to have determination. She brought her daughters to meetings and left them in the next room. Hafsah Harun claimed this experience caused her to perceive herself as a woman politician in the making. She had a very close relationship with her mother especially after her mother established the Satok English School. Her mother was her role model. She was taught to speak her mind and allowed to disagree on matters with a clear conscience. Her mother taught her daughters about religion and she was very strict but at the same time she was more liberal than most Malay mothers in bringing up her daughters. They were allowed to go out at night but had to come back at a certain time and be escorted at all times.

Conclusion: Reflections on Lily’s evolving identity

Born Eurasian, when her father was still alive Lily had the opportunity to travel and experience a European home and Christian upbringing, as well as an English medium school in Singapore. Back in Sarawak, her life and identity changed when she converted to Islam and she obtained Islamic knowledge that made her a respected Quran teacher in her village, which was rare for a woman at that time. Lily dressed in Malay dress, the long skirt and blouse called the baju kurung, covered her head when she went out in the public, read and taught Quran to the village boys on request by their parents, married a Muslim man and lived a Muslim life, and spoke Malay. This behaviour showed that she had adopted a Malay identity, and for that reason the Japanese appointed her as the leader of the Malay section of the women’s association, Kaum Ibu. Lily opened a religious school for Malay girls and women after her resignation from Permaisuri Malay Girls School in 1947, and started the Satok English School in 1950 upon seeing the importance of English as an important language of communication. She was concerned about Malay women’s education because she hoped Sarawak women could become educated and independent like herself.

Thus Lily Eberwein Abdullah’s life demonstrates not just involvement through her leadership of Kaum Ibu MNU in the unusual, brief and failed nationalist movement that was the Anti-Cession movement in Sarawak. More generally she earned a place in the history of Sarawak through her contribution to inspiring Malay women of her generation and afterwards that they could play a part in public life.

References

Nordi Archie, Wanita dan Politik Sarawak 1946-1996: Penglibatan, Peranan dan Tokoh, Latihan Ilmiah, Jabatan Sejarah, Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Malaya, 1997/1998.

Anthony Brooke, “Operation Peace Through Unity”, http://www.peacethroughunity.info/background-anthonystory.html

Margaret A.L. Brooke, My Life in Sarawak. London: Oxford University Press, 1913
Y.L. Lee, “The population of British Borneo”, Population Studies Vol. 15, No. 3 (Mar., 1962) pp. 226-243.

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, Penyertaan Kita / Our Participation. Kuching: State Government of Sarawak, 1983.

Abg. Yusuf Puteh, Portraits of grace and charm. Kuching: SHOBRA, undated.
R.H.W. Reece, The Name of Brooke: The End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak. Kuala Lumpur;New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
R.H.W. Reece, The White Rajahs of Sarawak, a Borneo Dynasty, Singapore: Archipelago Press, 2004.

Steven Runciman, The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960.

Sabihah Osman 1990 “The Malay-Muslim Response to Cession of Sarawak to the British Crown 1946-1951”. Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies 18 (1990), 145-174 Pp.145-174.

Sanib Said, Malay Politics in Sarawak 1946-1966: The search for unity and political ascendancy. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1985

Haji Mohd. Hasbie Sulaiman, Perjuangan Anti-Cession Sarawak: Peranan utama Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak. Kuching: PKMS/SAMASA Press, 1989.

^[1]

${ }^{13}$ In the circumstances, cession is an odd word for what happened in 1946. Runciman states categorically that by the Order in Council on 26 June 1946 “Sarawak was ‘annexed’, not ceded to His Majesty’s dominions” (Steven Runciman, The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960] p. 301.
${ }^{14}$ According to Reece, the period of Anthony Brooke’s administration of Sarawak from April until September 1939 is of some interest but there are very few records and those that have survived consist largely of complaints made about him by his critics (op.cit., pp.66-67).
${ }^{15}$ Sabihah, op.cit, p. 148.
${ }^{16}$ See Runciman, op.cit., Reece, op.cit., chapter 8, and R.H.W. Reece, The White Rajahs of Sarawak, a Borneo Dynasty (Singapore: Archipelago Press, 2004).
${ }^{17}$ Ibid, p. 128.
${ }^{18}$ Sanib, op.cit., p. 24.
${ }^{19}$ The Merpati Jepang School opened in 1930. Enche Buyong School opened in 1931 and in the same year, two existing schools were merged to form the government-sponsored Malay College, which was intended to train Malays as Native Officers and teachers. By 1933, enrolment had reached 400, bringing the number of students in Malay schools in Kuching up to 600 (three times the 1921 enrolment). Most importantly Malay language education was no longer restricted to the children of elite families. The first Malay girls’ school, the Sekolah Permaisuri opened in 1930 and by the late 1930s a handful of Malays had attended the Sultan Idris Training College in Malaya. The English-medium schools in Kuching, St. Thomas (Church of England) and St. Joseph (Roman Catholic) had become popular schools with the Chinese because of the growing importance of English. These two schools were also attracting some Malays. Clerkships in government departments required proficiency in English and were normally filled by mission school graduates. The Christian missionaries were working amongst the Iban in the Second Division, opening schools and Reece stated that “Iban prosperity…had also brought about something of a social revolution since the early 1920s. St. Augustine’s School…, St. Luke’s…, St Andrew’s and other schools later opened …in response to Iban requests. Although reduced income from rubber in the early 1930s made it difficult for parents to send their children to school, the Iban demand for education was insatiable” (Reece, The Name of Brooke, pp.129).
${ }^{20}$ Ibid, p. 130 .
${ }^{21}$ Rakawi Yusoff, the driving force of Fajar Sarawak, was a former customs officer who died in 1936. He was a Malay representative on the Kuching Municipal Board in 1934-1935, and was one of the few Sarawak Malays who had links with developments in Malaya. A member from 1934 of the Persaudaraan Sahabat Pena Malaya, the first vehicle of Malay cultural nationalism, he had probably been in contact with members of the Kesatuan Melayu Singapore (Singapore Malay Union) established in 1926 (Ibid, p.132).
${ }^{22}$ Ibid, p. 134.
${ }^{23}$ MNU objectives were similar to those of contemporary associations on the Malay peninsula (Ibid, p.135).
${ }^{24}$ Ibid, p.135; Sabihah, op.cit., p. 149.
${ }^{25}$ Reece The Name of Brooke, p. 128.
${ }^{26}$ Ibid; Sabihah, op.cit.
${ }^{27}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke, p. 135.
${ }^{28}$ Ibid, p. 249.
${ }^{29}$ Ibid, p. 249.
${ }^{30}$ Ibid, p. 250.
${ }^{31}$ Ibid, p. 236-7 and Sabihah, op.cit., p.148…
${ }^{32}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke, p. 259.
${ }^{33}$ Bertram’s birthday on 8 August, which was retained as a public holiday, was marked by all government offices and most shops. Malay National Union members gathered at the Indian

mosque where the Sarawak anthem was sung and a number of speeches made before the imam closed the meeting (Ibid, p.259).
${ }^{34}$ Ibid, p. 219.
${ }^{35}$ Ibid, pp.208-209. Christopher Dawson of the Malayan Civil Service, who was elected to act as Chief Secretary of the new colonial government if the cession went through, felt that as long as there was an undertaking that the Rajah’s replacement would visit them from time to time, ‘simple Dayaks’ would accept cession (Ibid, p.221).
${ }^{36}$ See Margaret A.L. Brooke, My Life in Sarawak. London, 1913.
${ }^{37}$ See Abg Yusoff Puteh (undated) and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, Penyertaan Kita / Our Participation, Kuching: State Government of Sarawak, 1983.
${ }^{38}$ The Japanese attempted to garner support from the natives of Sarawak through their participation in the Japanese-controlled government. Civil servants were asked (not forced) to remain in their administrative positions to help run the Japanese-controlled government. In fact a Japanese military decree of 1943 emphasised “the political participation of natives in the administration of North Borneo (including Sarawak)”. The Ken Sanjikai or the Prefectural Advisory Council that had been authorized by the military decree in 1943 chose its councillors from the old elites. The councillors were supposed to advise the Japanese administration on social and political questions (Mohd. Hasbie, op.cit.; Sabihah, op.cit.).
${ }^{39}$ Mohd. Hasbie, op.cit., p. 40.
${ }^{40}$ There is conflicting information about her educational background. Abg. Yusof Puteh (1990) mentioned that she was the first Malay woman to be educated at Raffles Girls’ School in Singapore until Standard Seven, which was equivalent to Form Three, age 15. However, another source written in 1982 by her own daughter who was then serving in the Chief Minister’s Department of Sarawak, mentioned that after the untimely death of her father, young Lily returned to Kuching, Sarawak and continued her study until Standard Seven at St. Mary’s Mission School. The information given by her own daughter seems to be more accurate, because she still has Lily’s school certificate given on completion of Form 3 at St Mary’s Mission School. ${ }^{41}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke, p. 274.
${ }^{42}$ Ibid, p. 275.
${ }^{43}$ Ibid, p. 275.
${ }^{44}$ Interview with Lily’s daughter, Datuk Hafsah Harun at her residence, $5^{\text {th }}$ November 2010.
${ }^{45}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke, p. 247.
${ }^{46}$ Sabihah, op.cit., p. 159.
${ }^{47}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke, p. 271.
${ }^{48}$ The school was closed only after a few months due to lack of funds. Sabihah 1990: 161.
${ }^{49}$ Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, op.cit.
${ }^{50}$ Quoted from “Education Standstill”. The Straits Times, 21 July, 1947,
http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19470721.2.43.aspx
${ }^{51}$ Quoted from Anthony Brooke," Operation Peace Through Unity"
http://www.peacethroughunity.info/background-anthonystory6.html .See also Hasbie, op.cit. and Sabihah, op.cit.
${ }^{52}$ Hasbie, op.cit., p. 103.
${ }^{53}$ Ibid, p. 127.
${ }^{54}$ Reece, The Name of Brooke; Sabihah, op.cit.
${ }^{55}$ Ibid; Reece, The Name of Brooke; Hasbie, op.cit.
${ }^{56}$ Evidently, the Ibans and the others up-river were not aware of the cession. Even many of the educated Ibans in Kuching did not respond positively to the anti-cession campaign. Robert Jitam (who resigned from the government service) failed to persuade Iban government servants to do the same in relation to Circular No.9, and as a response to that he reconstructed the SDA

committee so that Alfred Jamuh who resigned from Forestry Department was elected the new SDA President (Reece, The Name of Brooke p.272).
${ }^{57}$ Ibid, p. 275.
${ }^{58}$ A statement from Jawi Peranakan in Sarawak Gazette, 1 October, 1931 (quoted in Sanib, op.cit., p.25).
59 “Mrs. Brooke back from Sarawak” The Straits Times, 18 February 1948, Page 5.
http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19480218.2.51.aspx?keyword=sarawak+anti cession&lang=fr&sort=relevance&page=3&sessionid=f5a3d7b4b5be43d59785f9bec357f283