Unlike Suriani Abdullah and Rashid Maidin, Abdullah CD, 81, did not have 'exciting' personal experiences to tell, yet his story is critical to an alternative understanding of the history of Malaysia and the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) since the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941.

The chairman of CPM since August 1988 has written two Malay-language books on the history of the anti-colonial struggles of the Malay Left and communist party. Perang Anti-British dan Perdamaian ( Anti-British War and peace ) and Darurat dan Kemerdekaan, 1948-1998 ( The Emergency and Independence ) were published in Hong Kong in 1998. Both books had been translated into Chinese.

It is learned that Abdullah CD - whose full name is Cik Dat Anjang Abdullah - has also complete the draft of his personal memoirs in Bahasa Malaysia.

Born in Lambor Kiri, Parit, Perak in October 1923, Abdullah's family was poor. However, he was not only hardworking but also intelligent enough to complete his Standard 7 in Kuala Kangsar's Clifford English School. Before that, he attended the Malay primary school in Parit and English intermediate school in Tapah.

So, even before the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, Abdullah was already bilingual. Later, he also learnt Chinese and married to a Chinese, Suriani @ Eng Ming Ching.