Owing to his knowledge of the English language, he served as a translator to the British military at Gan airbase in the same atoll.

The new prime minister of the Maldive Islands had appointed Abdullah Afeef as the liaison officer between the British and the locals.

This time Abdullah Afeef saved the lives of the Maldive officials by warning them of the impending unrest.

[1]: ibid It is said that Afeef initially refused, and that he accepted the role of becoming the executive head of the new state only under heavy pressure.

In his first year as president, Afeef pleaded for support and recognition from Britain in the 25 May 1959 edition of The Times of London[2] "...The presence of the British in Addu Atoll had absolutely nothing to do with the will of the people to break from Malé.

It was calculated action by the people to show Malé that we are determined never again to submit to the despotic rule of a government of one family.

Abdullah Afeef went into exile to the Seychelles with his immediate family aboard the British warship HMS Loch Lomond.

[1]: October 1963 Despite official condemnation, Afeef is respected and admired by many Southern Maldivians who claim him as a man of integrity who was simply a victim of circumstance.

Owing to his secularism and his admiration for the British, he was abjectly ridiculed and mocked as a "Kafir" or infidel by the press in Malé, but among many Southern Maldivians, he is esteemed for his forward thinking and personal integrity.