Cover image via 
Thousands of digital documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy have revealed a notable presence of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers in Kuala Lumpur during the 1970s
The documents were released on Tuesday, 18 March, by order of US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order directing national intelligence to release the complete records of the John F Kennedy assassination, reported Reuters.
Of the 63,400 pages released, some refer to Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur and Kuching, Sarawak.
A document titled 'Expansion of Foreign Liaison' states that some CIA officers in Kuala Lumpur operated openly, while others worked undercover. It also recommends establishing a US base in Singapore instead of Kuala Lumpur:
"There is an abnormally large percentage of Central Intelligence Agency personnel here on both an overt and covert basis, and the addition of another investigative agency is feared by the Ambassador as objectionable to the Malaysian Government which is endeavouring to maintain a neutral position. State asks that we let them explore the possibility of opening in Singapore instead of Kuala Lumpur. Singapore is extremely close and is actually a better location from the standpoint of travellers both east and west as Singapore is a normal international aviation stop. We believe Singapore would be just as good a location as Kuala Lumpur and recommend that State be asked to make the necessary arrangements without further delay."
Image via New Straits Times
Another document, titled 'US Senate Select Committee (SSC) to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities', also alludes to the presence of CIA personnel in Kuala Lumpur
The closing sentence of one of the pages read, "The enclosures also contain information that there are a large number of CIA employees assigned to the US Embassy at Kuala Lumpur."
The document primarily focuses on "legal attachés", whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) describes as representatives of its director tasked with regional responsibilities in foreign countries.
CIA and FBI are both members of the US intelligence community. CIA has no law enforcement authority and is designed to "collect and analyse information that is vital to the formation of US policy, particularly in areas that impact the security of the nation."
"The CIA collects information only regarding foreign countries and their citizens. Unlike the FBI, it is prohibited from collecting information regarding 'US Persons', a term that includes US citizens, resident aliens, legal immigrants, and US corporations, regardless of where they are located," explained FBI on its FAQ page.
Image via New Straits Times
Another document revealed the existence of two CIA offices in Malaysia — one in Kuala Lumpur and another in Kuching
It remains uncertain whether additional references to Malaysia exist among the 2,182 PDFs released.
At the time of writing, Malaysian authorities have yet to issue a statement regarding the disclosed information.
Image via The Vocket
