[4] 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.

[7] On 2 December 1989, he was one of the signatories of the peace agreement between the CPM and the government of Malaysia, finally ending the period of armed struggle.

[9] On 3 October 2023, Abdullah CD celebrated his 100th birthday, surrounded by well-wishers and former party members in the peace village in Sukhirin.