2. Social Roles

Sybil’s main contributions emerged through her work as a nurse and midwife, which placed her in close contact with communities in Ipoh and Papan. Even before the war, she served both poor and wealthy residents regardless of race, helping to improve public health in a multiracial society.
During the Japanese occupation, her social role became more critical. She provided medical treatment to both civilians and resistance fighters who had no access to safe healthcare. She gave shelter, food, and care to those injured during battles or while fleeing from Japanese forces. Despite the risks, she continued practising medicine at a time when the public suffered from fear, shortages, and brutality.
Her commitment demonstrated that social service could become a form of resistance, showing how humanitarian work strengthened community spirit and resilience during a period of severe hardship.

3. Anti-Colonial Roles

Sybil Kathigasu is best remembered for her courageous anti-colonial resistance during World War II. She openly opposed the Japanese occupation by supporting the local guerrillas fighting for Malaya’s freedom. Her clinic became a secret base where she treated wounded fighters, supplied bandages and medicines, and communicated vital information to the resistance.

Her use of an illegal radio to listen to British broadcasts was a deliberate act of defiance, as the Japanese prohibited possession or use of radios. After her arrest in 1943, she endured months of torture but refused to disclose information about the resistance network. Her bravery inspired many Malaysians and later became a symbol of Malayans’ refusal to submit to foreign rule.

After the Japanese surrender, she was honoured by the British with the George Medal for her heroism—recognition that her anti-colonial efforts had played a meaningful part in Malaya’s wartime resistance. 

Sybil’s political role emerged from the shadows of her clinic between 1942 and 1943. While she appeared to be a simple town nurse, she was secretly an integral operative for the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). Her political resistance was two-fold: medical and informational. She covertly treated wounded guerrillas under the cover of night, providing them with life-saving supplies stolen or diverted from her clinic. Simultaneously, she operated a hidden shortwave radio nicknamed "Josephine." By listening to the BBC, she disseminated accurate news of the war to the local populace, effectively countering Japanese propaganda and sustaining the hope of a British return—a political stance that was extremely dangerous.

The true measure of Sybil’s political defiance was tested in August 1943, when she and her husband were arrested by the Kempeitai (Japanese military police). For nearly two years, Sybil was subjected to horrific "water torture" and psychological trauma, including watching her young daughter, Dawn, being threatened with fire to force a confession. Sybil refused to break. Her silence was a political act of the highest order, protecting the entire resistance network in Perak. Even when sentenced to life imprisonment in February 1945, her spirit remained uncrushed.