KUALA LUMPUR – Some three months after celebrating his 100th birthday, former chairman of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) Cek Dat Anjang Abdullah, better known as Abdullah CD, died at 9.29am in Narathiwat, Thailand.
His son-in-law Indra Djaja Abdullah shared the news of Abdullah CD’s passing in a Facebook post, saying the centenarian died in Sukhirin Peace Village, stopping short of disclosing the cause of death.
Indra in October had shared pictures of Abdullah’s 100th birthday party, where he was surrounded by family and friends.
Abdullah was born on October 2, 1923 in Parit, Perak.
His foray into the fight for Malayan independence started when he joined Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), which was the first leftist anti-colonial establishment in British Malaya.
After World War II ended in 1945, he helped to set up Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Muda (PKMM) with other Malay leaders, such as Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestamam, and Ishak Muhammad.
When the British declared a state of emergency, Abdullah was said to have led many CPM and PKMM members into a guerrilla revolution in the jungles of Malaya.
After evading capture in north Pahang in July 1948, he went on to establish the 10th Regiment of the Malayan People’s Liberation Army (MPLA) on May 12, 1949. He served until 1989.
He suffered serious injuries from a hand grenade explosion while fighting the British.
On December 2, 1989, he was one of the signatories of the peace agreement between the CPM and the Malaysian government.
Abdullah married fellow CPM leader Suriani Abdullah (Eng Ming Ching) in February 1955. She died in 2013. – January 13, 2024