During the Cold War, desinicisation played a crucial role as part of the Malayan counterinsurgency war. The act of diluting the feeling of Chinese identity, as shown by the case study of the Chinese diaspora in the Federation of Malaya, has two broader ramifications. Internally, the process of desinicisation (implemented in tandem with Malayanisation) played a vital role in ensuring the allegiance of the unassimilated Chinese population in the battle against Communist insurrection. It was implemented as part of broader constitutional and political changes aimed at achieving decolonisation and establishing a multi-ethnic nation-state in Malaya. Externally, desinicisation functioned as a dynamic force that prevented any association with either the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or Taiwan (Formosa), thus severing the legal and political connections between the Chinese diaspora in Malaya and the Chinese governments. This paper explores the efforts made by the Federation of Malaya to diminish the Chinese cultural influence on the national identity of the Malayan Chinese diaspora during the Malayan Emergency. Desinicisation was significant in the formation of a new national identity among the Chinese population in Malaya, under the backdrop of increasing Malayan nationalism, communal conflicts, Communist insurrection, and the process of British decolonisation.