Tun Abdullah was born in Kampong Batu, Padang Sebang, Malacca on 24 June 1926.
Following graduation, serving the requirements of the Johor scholarship, he went on to become an Assistant District Officer in Muar in the 1955.
It was in Perak where he was spotted by the first Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Tunku brought him back to Kuala Lumpur and appointed him as his private secretary from 1959 to 1962.
Instead of becoming one, to relive his dream, he went on to recruit Professors and Lecturers in the field of medicine, many from Indonesia and Myanmar.