The Malayan Emergency and the desinicization of the Malayan Chinese

Abstract

This chapter examines how the Federation of Malaya sought to desinicize the national identity of the Malayan Chinese during the Malayan Emergency. Desinicization was aimed at eliminating or diluting a sense of Chineseness amongst the Malayan Chinese, as such sentiments were perceived to represent a potential threat to both national security and national integration in Malaya during the Cold War. In this context, the move towards a desinicized national identity can be interpreted as the colonial state’s response to the Malayan counterinsurgency campaign. Desinicization was achieved through two measures – securitization of the state’s physical borders and Malayanization of the Chinese population. Desinicization also had two implications – securing the loyalty of the Malayan Chinese in the state’s campaign against communist insurgency and allowing the state to prevent extra-territorial claims to allegiance by either the communist or Nationalist Chinese governments.