Cik Dat bin Anjang Abdullah (2 October 1923 – 13 January 2024), commonly known as Abdullah CD, was a Malaysian politician who served as chairman and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

Early life and career

Abdullah was born on 2 October 1923, in

Parit Parit (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ڤاريت) is a main town of Perak Tengah District, Perak, Malaysia. List of Schools in Parit:- Primary schools: # Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Parit (SRKP). # Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Iskandar Shah (SRKIS). # Seko ...

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

, to Malay parents of Minangkabau descent. His political involvement was sparked by interest in the Maharajalela Wars against the British. As a young man, he joined the '' Kesatuan Melayu Muda'' (KMM). He became KMM secretary in the Lambor district in Perak during the early stages of the Japanese occupation. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Abdullah CD was involved in the setting up of the Malay Nationalist Party (in Malay, the ''Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Muda''; PKMM) in October 1945 with other early leftist Malay leaders such as Mokhtaruddin Lasso, Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy,

Ahmad Boestamam Ahmad Boestamam (30 November 1920 – 19 January 1983), or Abdullah Thani bin Raja Kechil, was a Malaysian freedom fighter and politician. He was the founding president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Marhaen Malaysia and former chairmen of ...

, Ishak Haji Muhammad, amongst others. He was also responsible for organising the Malay labour movement and was elected vice-president of the Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU). Not long before the declaration of emergency in Malaya in June 1948 by the British colonial government, Abdullah CD, Dr Burhanuddin Helmi, and Ahmad Boestamam met to discuss the conditions and the steps to be taken in the struggle for Malayan independence. When the British declared an emergency, Abdullah led many members from the CPM, PKMM, API (''Angkatan Pemuda Insaf''), AWAS, and PETA into an anti-British guerrilla revolution in the jungles of Malaya. In July 1948, he was captured in north Pahang, but he managed to escape. On 12 May 1949, Abdullah started the 10th Regiment of the CPM in

Temerloh Temerloh is a municipality in central Pahang, Malaysia. Located about from Kuala Lumpur along the Malaysia Federal Route 2, Kuantan–Kuala Lumpur trunk road, Temerloh is the second largest urban area in Pahang after Kuantan, the state capital c ...

Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

. Abdullah was involved in many armed battles against the British and suffered serious injuries from a hand grenade explosion. Abdullah CD continued to be the leader of the 10th Regiment, until peace was achieved in 1989. On 2 December 1989, he was one of the signatories of the

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surr ...

between the CPM and the government of Malaysia, finally ending the period of armed struggle.

Personal life and death

Abdullah CD was married to Suriani Abdullah (née Eng Ming Ching), also a leader of the CPM in February 1955. They remained married in Sukhirin,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

until Suriani's death in 2013. On 3 October 2023, Abdullah CD celebrated his 100th birthday, surrounded by well-wishers and former party members in the peace village in Sukhirin. He died at the Sukhirin Peace Village in Narathiwat, Thailand on 13 January 2024. He underwent a period of ailing health before his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah CD 1923 births 2024 deaths Thai Muslims Thai people of Malay descent People from Perak Malaysian politicians of Malay descent People from Narathiwat province Malaysian communists Malaysian people of Minangkabau descent Muslim socialists Malaysian men centenarians