1.
Central Intelligence Agency
–
As one of the principal members of the U. S. Intelligence Community, the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is focused on providing intelligence for the President. Though it is not the only U. S. government agency specializing in HUMINT and it exerts foreign political influence through its tactical divisions, such as the Special Activities Division. Despite transferring some of its powers to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size as a result of the September 11 attacks. In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in fiscal year 2010, the CIA has increasingly expanded its roles, including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions, the Information Operations Center, has shifted focus from counter-terrorism to offensive cyber-operations, when the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis. Today its primary purpose is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence, warning/informing American leaders of important overseas events, with Pakistan described as an intractable target. Counterintelligence, with China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, the Executive Office also supports the U. S. military by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperates on field activities. The Executive Director is in charge of the day to day operation of the CIA, each branch of the military service has its own Director. The Directorate has four regional groups, six groups for transnational issues. There is a dedicated to Iraq, regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia, Russia and Europe, and the Asian Pacific, Latin American. The Directorate of Operations is responsible for collecting intelligence. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U. S. intelligence community with their own HUMINT operations. This Directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, in spite of this, the Department of Defense recently organized its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service, under the Defense Intelligence Agency. This Directorate is known to be organized by regions and issues. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to the military services. For example, the development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force, the U-2s original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union. It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities, subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
2.
Guantanamo Bay detention camp
–
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo or GTMO, which fronts on Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Since the inmates have been detained indefinitely without trial and several inmates were severely tortured, the camp was established by the President George W. Bushs administration in 2002 during the War on Terror. During his term, his administration succeeded in reducing the number of inmates from about 245 to 41, in practice, the site has long been used for indefinite detention without trial. The facility is operated by the Joint Task Force Guantanamo of the United States government in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Detention areas consisted of Camp Delta including Camp Echo, Camp Iguana, and Camp X-Ray, which is now closed. The Bush administration asserted that detainees were not entitled to any of the protections of the Geneva Conventions. Following this, on 7 July 2006, the Department of Defense issued a memo stating that detainees would, in the future. Current and former detainees have reported abuse and torture, which the Bush administration denied, in a 2005 Amnesty International report, the facility was called the Gulag of our times. In 2006, the United Nations called unsuccessfully for the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be closed, on 22 January 2009, President Obama issued a request to suspend proceedings at Guantanamo military commission for 120 days and to shut down the detention facility that year. President Obama issued a Presidential memorandum dated 15 December 2009, ordering Thomson Correctional Center, Thomson, in February 2011, U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that Guantanamo Bay was unlikely to be closed, due to opposition in the Congress. Congress particularly opposed moving prisoners to facilities in the United States for detention or trial, in April 2011, Wikileaks began publishing 779 secret files relating to prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. On 4 November 2015, President Barack Obama stated that he was preparing to unveil a plan to close the facility, the plan would propose one or more prisons from a working list that includes facilities in Kansas, Colorado and South Carolina. Two others that were on the list, in California and Washington state, do not appear to have made the preliminary cut, by January 19,2017, however, the detention center remained open, with 41 detainees remaining. Camp Delta is a 612-unit detention center finished in April 2002 and it includes detention camps 1 through to 6, as well as Camp Echo, where pre-commissions are held. Camp X-Ray was a detention facility, which was closed in April 2002. Its prisoners were transferred to Camp Delta, in 2008, the Associated Press reported Camp 7, a separate facility on the naval base that is considered the highest security jail on the base, and its location is classified. It is used to house high-security detainees formerly held by the CIA, in January 2010, Scott Horton published an article in Harpers Magazine describing Camp No, a black site about a mile outside the main camp perimeter, which included an interrogation center. His description was based on accounts by four guards who had served at Guantanamo and they said prisoners were taken one at a time to the camp, where they were believed to be interrogated. He believes that the three detainees that DoD announced as having committed suicide were questioned under torture the night of their deaths
3.
Director of National Intelligence
–
Further, by Presidential Policy Directive 19 signed by Barack Obama in October 2012, the DNI was given overall responsibility for Intelligence Community whistleblowing and source protection. Only one of the two positions can be held by an officer at any given time. The statute does not specify what rank the officer will hold during his or her tenure in either position. On July 20,2010, President Obama nominated retired Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper for the position, Clapper was confirmed by the Senate on August 5,2010, and replaced acting Director David C. The prior DNI was retired Navy four-star admiral Dennis C, blair, whose resignation became effective May 28,2010. Before the DNI was formally established, the head of the Intelligence Community was the Director of Central Intelligence, senators Dianne Feinstein, Jay Rockefeller and Bob Graham introduced S.2645 on June 19,2002, to create the Director of National Intelligence position. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on December 17,2004, in addition, the law required the CIA Director to report his agencys activities to the DNI. Critics say compromises during the bills crafting led to the establishment of a DNI whose powers are too weak to lead, manage. In particular, the law left the United States Department of Defense in charge of the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. On February 17,2005, President George W. Bush named US Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte to the post, pending confirmation by the Senate. Negroponte was confirmed by a Senate vote of 98 to 2 in favor of his appointment on April 21,2005, on February 13,2007, John Michael McConnell became the 2nd Director of National Intelligence, after Negroponte was appointed Deputy Secretary of State. Donald M. Kerr was confirmed by the U. S. Senate to be Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence on October 4,2007 and sworn in on October 9,2007. Declan McCullagh at News. com wrote on August 24,2007 and this effectively made the DNI website invisible to all search engines and in turn, any search queries. Ross Feinstein, Spokesman for the DNI, said that the cloaking was removed as of September 3,2007, were not even sure how got there – but it was again somehow hidden the next day. Another blog entry by McCullagh on September 7, states that the DNI site should now be open to search engines, robots. txt has been configured to allow access to all directories for any agent. In September 2007, the Office of the DNI released Intelligence Community 100 Day &500 Day Plans for Integration & Collaboration and these plans include a series of initiatives designed to build the foundation for increased cooperation and reform of the U. S. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 established the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as an independent agency to assist the DNI, the ODNIs goal is to effectively integrate foreign, military and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of United States interests abroad. The budget for the ODNI and the Intelligence Community for fiscal year 2013 was $52.6 billion, the ODNI has about 1,750 employees
4.
1998 United States embassy bombings
–
The FBI also connected the attack to Azerbaijan, as 60 calls were placed via satellite phone by bin Laden to associates in the countrys capital Baku. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah were credited for being the masterminds behind the bombings, the following month, a communique was issued warning the United States that a response was being prepared to repay them for their interference. However, the 9/11 Commission Report claims that preparations began shortly after bin Laden issued his February 1998 fatwa and he also told his followers that the genocide in Rwanda had been planned inside the two American embassies. Wright concludes that bin Ladens actual goal was to lure the United States into Afghanistan, in May 1998, a villa in Nairobi was purchased by one of the bombers to enable a bomb to be built in the garage. Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan purchased a beige Toyota Dyna truck in Nairobi, six metal bars were used to form a cage on the back of the Atlas to accommodate the bomb. In June 1998, KK Mohamed rented House 213 in the Illala district of Dar es Salaam, a white Suzuki Samurai was used to haul bomb components hidden in rice sacks, to House 213. In both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Mohammed Odeh supervised construction of two large,2, 000-pound destructive devices. The Nairobi bomb was made of 400 to 500 cylinders of TNT, ammonium nitrate, aluminium powder, the explosives were packed into twenty specially designed wooden crates that were sealed and then placed in the bed of the trucks. Mushin Musa Matwalli Atwah ran a wire from the bomb to a set of batteries in the back of the truck cab and then to a detonator switch beneath the dashboard. The bombings were scheduled for August 7, the anniversary of the arrival of American troops in Saudi Arabia during the early stages of the Persian Gulf War. 213 people were killed in the Nairobi blast, while 11 were killed in Dar es Salaam, an estimated 4,000 in Nairobi were wounded, and another 85 in Dar es Salaam. Seismological readings analyzed after the bombs indicated energy of between 3 to 17 short tons of explosive material. S. Marine, Sergeant Jesse Aliganga, a Marine Security Guard at the Nairobi embassy, U. S. Army Sergeant Kenneth R. Hobson II was one of the 12 Americans killed in the attack. Al-Owhali threw a grenade at embassy guards before exiting the vehicle. As Bwaku radioed to Marine Post One for backup, the truck detonated, the explosion damaged the embassy building and collapsed the neighboring Ufundi Building where most victims were killed, mainly students and staff of a secretarial college housed here. The heat from the blast was channelled between the buildings towards Haile Selassie Avenue where a packed commuter bus was burned, windows were shattered in a radius of nearly 1⁄2 mile. Following the attacks, a group calling itself the Liberation Army for Holy Sites took credit for the bombings, American investigators believe the term was a cover used by Egyptian Islamic Jihad, who had actually perpetrated the bombing. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1189 condemning the attacks on the embassies, both embassies were heavily damaged and the Nairobi embassy had to be rebuilt
5.
USS Cole bombing
–
The USS Cole bombing was a terrorist attack against the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on 12 October 2000, while it was being refueled in Yemens Aden harbor. Seventeen American sailors were killed and 39 injured in the deadliest attack against a United States naval vessel since 1987, the terrorist organization al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. A U. S. judge has held Sudan liable for the attack, the United States Navy has reconsidered their rules of engagement in response to this attack. On the morning of Thursday,12 October 2000, USS Cole, under the command of Commander Kirk Lippold, Cole completed mooring at 09,30, refueling started at 10,30. Former CIA intelligence officer Robert Finke said the blast appeared to be caused by explosives molded into a charge against the hull of the boat. Around 400 to 700 pounds of explosive were used, much of the blast entered a mechanical space below the ships galley, violently pushing up the deck, thereby killing crew members who were lining up for lunch. The crew fought flooding in the spaces and had the damage under control after three days. Divers inspected the hull and determined that the keel was not damaged, seventeen sailors were killed and 39 were injured in the blast. The injured were taken to the United States Armys Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near Ramstein, Germany, the attack was the deadliest against a U. S. naval vessel since the Iraqi attack on USS Stark on 17 May 1987. The asymmetric warfare attack was organized and directed by the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, in June 2001, an al-Qaeda recruitment video featuring Osama bin Laden boasted about the attack and encouraged similar attacks. The plan was to load a full of explosives and explode it near The Sullivans. However, the boat was so overladen that it sank, forcing the attack to be abandoned, planning for the attack was discussed at the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit shortly after the attempt, which was held from 5 to 8 January 2000. On 10 June 2000, Mihdhar left San Diego to visit his wife in Yemen at a house used as a communications hub for al-Qaeda. After the bombing, Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Iryani reported that Mihdhar had been one of the key planners of the attack and had been in the country at the time of the attacks. He would later return to the United States to participate in 9/11 on American Airlines Flight 77, the first naval ship on the scene to assist the stricken Cole was the Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, HMS Marlborough, under the command of Capt Anthony Rix, RN. She was on passage to the UK after a deployment in the Gulf. Marlborough had full medical and damage control teams on board and when her offer of assistance was accepted she immediately diverted to Aden, eleven of the most badly injured sailors were sent via MEDEVAC to a French military hospital in Djibouti and underwent surgery before being sent to Germany. The first U. S. military support to arrive was a U. S and they were followed by another small group of United States Marines from the Interim Marine Corps Security Force Company, Bahrain flown in by P-3
6.
September 11 attacks
–
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
7.
Torture
–
Torture is the act of deliberately inflicting physical or psychological pain on an organism in order to fulfill some desire of the torturer or compel some action from the victim. Torture, by definition, is a knowing and intentional act, in other cases, the torturer may be indifferent to the condition of the victim. Alternatively, some forms of torture are designed to inflict pain or leave as little physical injury or evidence as possible while achieving the same psychological devastation. The torturer may or may not kill or injure the victim, depending on the aim, even a form of torture that is intentionally fatal may be prolonged to allow the victim to suffer as long as possible. Although torture is sanctioned by some states, it is prohibited under international law, although widely illegal and reviled there is an ongoing debate as to what exactly is and is not legally defined to be torture. It is a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Torture is also prohibited for the signatories of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, despite these findings and international conventions, organizations that monitor abuses of human rights report widespread use condoned by states in many regions of the world. Amnesty International estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture, the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which is currently in force since June 26,1987, provides a broad definition of torture. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to and this definition includes torture as part of domestic violence or ritualistic abuse, as well as in criminal activities. The Rome Statute is the treaty set up the International Criminal Court. The treaty was adopted at a conference in Rome on 17 July 1998. The Rome Statute provides a simplest definition of torture regarding the prosecution of war criminals by the International Criminal Court, since 1973, Amnesty International has adopted the simplest, broadest definition of torture. Title 18 of the United States Code contains the definition of torture in 18 U. S. C, §2340, which is only applicable to persons committing or attempting to commit torture outside of the United States. The Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 provides remedies to individuals who are victims of torture by persons acting in a capacity of any foreign nation. The definition is similar to the U. S. Code §2340, Torture grew into an ornate discipline, where calibrated violence served two functions, to investigate and produce confessions and to attack the body as a form of punishment. Entire populaces of towns would show up to witness an execution by torture in the public square and those who had been spared torture were commonly locked barefooted into the stocks, where children took delight in rubbing feces into their hair and mouths. The Age of Enlightenment in the world further developed the idea of universal human rights. The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 marks the recognition at least nominally of a ban of torture by all UN member states
8.
Karachi
–
Karachi is the capital of Sindh, and is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan, as well as the 7th largest in the world and the worlds second most populous city proper. Ranked as a world city, the city is Pakistans premier industrial and financial centre. Karachi is also Pakistans most cosmopolitan city, though the Karachi region has been inhabited for millennia, the city was founded as a village named Kolachi that was established as a fortified settlement in 1729. By the time of the Partition of British India, the city was the largest in Sindh with a population of 400,000. Immediately following the independence of Pakistan, the population increased dramatically with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees from India. The city experienced economic growth following independence, attracting migrants from throughout Pakistan. Karachi is now Pakistans premier industrial and financial centre, the city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $113 billion as of 2014. Karachi collects over a third of Pakistans tax revenue, and generates approximately 20% of Pakistans GDP, approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachis ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistans foreign trade. Approximately 90% of the corporations operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. Up to 70% of Karachis workforce is employed in the informal economy, Karachi is one of Pakistans most secular and socially liberal cities. It is also the most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse city in Pakistan, Karachi is considered to be one of the worlds fastest growing cities, and has communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan. Karachi is also home to over 2 million Bangladeshi migrants,1 million Afghans, the citys murder rate in 2015 had decreased by 75% compared to 2013, and kidnappings decreased by 90%, with the improved security environment triggering sharp increases in real-estate prices. Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi, the new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi, whose son is said to have slayed a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The citys inhabitants are referred to by the demonym Karachiite in English, the earliest inhabitants of the Karachi region are believed to have been hunter-gatherers, with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. The Karachi region is believed to have known to the ancient Greeks. The region may be the site of Krokola, where Alexander the Great once camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia, in 711 C. E. Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley. The Karachi region is believed to have known to the Arabs as Debal. Under Mirza Ghazi Beg the Mughal administrator of Sindh, development of coastal Sindh, under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh
9.
Khalid al-Mihdhar
–
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks. Mihdhar was born in Saudi Arabia and fought in the Bosnian War during the 1990s, in early 1999, he traveled to Afghanistan where, as an experienced and respected jihadist, he was selected by Osama bin Laden to participate in the attacks. Mihdhar arrived in California with fellow hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi in January 2000, at this point, the CIA was aware of Mihdhar, and he was photographed in Malaysia with another al-Qaeda member who was involved in the USS Cole bombing. The CIA did not inform the FBI when it learned that Mihdhar and Hazmi had entered the United States, upon arriving in San Diego, California, Mihdhar and Hazmi were to train as pilots, but spoke English poorly and did not do well with flight lessons. In June 2000, Mihdhar left the United States for Yemen, Mihdhar spent some time in Afghanistan in early 2001 and returned to the United States in early July 2001. He stayed in New Jersey in July and August, before arriving in the Washington, on the morning of September 11,2001, Mihdhar boarded American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked approximately 30 minutes after take off. The plane was crashed into the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard the flight. Khalid al-Mihdhar was born on May 16,1975 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to a prominent family, little is known about his life before the age of 20, when he and childhood friend Nawaf al-Hazmi went to Bosnia to fight with the mujahideen in the Bosnian War. After the war, Mihdhar and Hazmi went to Afghanistan where they alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance. In 1997, Mihdhar told his family that he was leaving to fight in Chechnya, in the late 1990s, Mihdhar married Hoda al-Hada, who was the sister of a comrade from Yemen, and they had two daughters. Through marriage, Mihdhar was related to a number of individuals involved with al-Qaeda in some way, in Spring 1999, al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden committed to support the 9/11 attacks plot, which was largely organized by prominent al-Qaeda member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Mihdhar and Hazmi were among the first group of participants selected for the operation, along with Tawfiq bin Attash and Abu Bara al Yemeni, Mihdhar, who had spent time in al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s, was known and highly regarded by Bin Laden. Mihdhar listed the Los Angeles Sheraton as his intended destination, once selected, Mihdhar and Hazmi were sent to the Mes Aynak training camp in Afghanistan. He was known as Sinaan during the preparations, the CIA was aware of Mihdhar and Hazmis involvement with al-Qaeda, having been informed by Saudi intelligence during a 1999 meeting in Riyadh. Based on information uncovered by the FBI in the 1998 United States embassy bombings case, the National Security Agency began tracking the communications of Hada, Mihdhars father-in-law. In late 1999, the NSA informed the CIA of a meeting in Malaysia, which Hada mentioned would involve Khalid, Nawaf, and Salem. On January 4,2000, Mihdhar left Yemen and flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the photocopy was sent to the CIAs Alec Station, which was tracking al-Qaeda. On January 5,2000, Mihdhar traveled to Kuala Lumpur, where he joined Hazmi, Attash and Yemeni, hamburg cell member Ramzi bin al-Shibh was also at the summit, and Mohammed possibly attended
10.
Malaysia
–
Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
